Newspaper Page Text
12A
October 21, 2004
Watchdogs : Augusta to be retirement community under plan
contlnuodfiunpm&
to restore Augusta to its
“turn of the century
glory” economically and
politically.
“I believe in my heart
that we are a can-do
community,” Woody
Merry said.
Merry, a financial plan
ner who has sat on a
number of civic and
Budget : Property tax to generate nearly $5 million
Continued from page 1A
wants to make up for it
through raising property
taxes and cutting the
budget. The property tax
hike proposed in Rich
mond County will increase
revenue by $4.78 million -
more than half of the
deficit. Russell presented
the proposed budget dur
ing the regular commis-
Jones : Domestic abuse seen as top issue for candidate
Continued from page 1A
ranging from domestic
abuse to traffic viola
tions that his office han
dles.
“The funny thing is
that they (voters) will
more than likely cross
paths with the solicitor’s
office some time in their
lives. Just about every-
The Georgia Department of Labor
& .
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community development
boards, called the town
hall meeting. He dis
played the proposed
plans for the city in a
Power Point slide presen
tation. Merry sees
Augusta as a place for
retirees to enjoy their
twilight years. The plan
includes more retirement
activities for seniors such
sion meeting on 0ct.19.
“As we know this recom
mendation is just a catalyst
to begin discussion that
will take place over the
next several weeks.” Rus
sell said before he intro
duced the proposed budg
et.
There are law enforce
ment division cuts pro
posed in the amount of 1.3
percent. All of the other
body gets a traffic cita
tion,” he said.
Jones says part of his
thrust as Solicitor Gen
eral will be to build upon
outreach programs that
will familiarize the pub
lic with the office. Cur
tailing domestic violence
is also a significant part
of Jones platform.
There are currently three
AUGUSTA FOCUS
as access to golfing, more
restaurants, advancements
in medical care and an
increase in arts.
However, he admits that
the plan would require
buy-in from the Richmond
County Commission.
Merry doesn’t think the
commission has the expert
ise needed for his vision,
particularly in areas such as
offices will be asked to
trim 4.3 percent from their
department budgets.
Commissioners came to a
decision that the tax
increase will also be fol
lowed by no raises in coun
ty workers. This decision
will affect personnel and
any new type of programs.
“We have put down
budget cuts of $820,000,
spenditure reductions of
attorneys and three Vic
tim Services Advocates in
the solicitor’s office who
deal with nothing but
domestic violence cases.
“That gives us a hands
on approach with victims
of domestic violence.
They’re dealing with
experts who have a real
concern for them,” Jones
said.
banking and personnel.
“They need help,”
Merry said in reference to
the commission, “This is
not meanness, this is car
ing. This is of great con
cern.”
In his plan he has
devised, the new Augusta
would include more real
estate on the riverfront,
road access for E-Z Go
Carts equipped with
$2.7 million and a pro
posed mill increase of 1.5
mills. This is approximate
ly a $4.40 charge a month
on a SIOO,OOO home,”
Russell said.
He also stated that there
was SSOO million overkill
in the city’s budget for the
general fund budget and
there will be no new
money added to the
digest. Money was added
But Jones says more
could be done about
domestic violence if
additional attorneys were
freed up. For that he
says he intends to work
with legislators to
dccriminafize traffic
cases. Jones says -it
would not only free up
personnel but also save
the county money. Cur
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emergency access devices
for seniors and develop
ing major corporations
to boost the city’s econo
my while attracting visi
tors.
“For us to have an eco
nomic span of growth,
we've got to be creative,
we've got to be innova
tive and we've got to be
first.” Merry replied.
Commissioner Bobby
to the digest in 2003,
however instead of the tax
base increasing, it actually
shrunk. Russell says that
the finance office tried to
take away from areas that
could afford the budget’s
crunch. Russell ended the
presentation with a cau
tion to the commission
about the information
they were about to receive.
rently, indigents charged
with traffic violations
have the right to an
attorney that is paid by
the county.
But most importantly,
Jones wants the Solici
tor’s office to be thought
of as "fair.”
“l want to make sure
we're an office they can
come to and believe
Hankerson welcomes any
group to give their
insight and share their
viewpoints even though
he and members of the
advisory committee have
not talked.
“We have a lot of
organizations with plans.
When we have a summit,
all can come to sit at the
table.” said the commis
sioner.
“The options that are
available to you are slim.
But they are there and we
will work with you as you
provide for the use of the
tax payer’s dollar.” he said.
Commissioners will look
over the proposal in a
series of workshops before
making a decision.
they’ll be treated fairly. It
doesn’t mean they will
always get what they
want, but at least they
were treated fairly,” said
Jones.
His Republican chal
lenger is retired attorney,
Swain McElmurray.