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Bulldogs face toughest foe
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VOL -NUMBER 81
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There’s a yard on Pirkle Ferry Road that is catching the eye of
passers-by every day. Mrs. Annette Gravitt had an idea, shared it
with Howell Mashburn of Mashburn Landscaping and what was
created is one of the most beautiful sights in Cumming. Different
varieties of mums white, lavender and yellow jacket yellow
Sweeping changes planned to improve
operation of Forsyth County tax office
By Chuck Thompson
Gwinnett Oaily News
Forsyth Countians who’ve paid a
recent visit to the Tax Assessors
Office have probably seen remodel
ing work under way to accommodate
a new courthouse computer system.
But, physical changes like these
aren’t the only ones taking place
inside the office, as plans are being
made to educate the public about
taxes, crack down on abusers of the
homestead exemption and locate per
sonal property owners who aren’t
paying tax.
Mac Rogers, chairman of the
Board of Tax Assessors, says plans
are to provide the local media with a
“tax schedule” to keep everyone up
to-date on what’s happening with
taxes.
In addition, Rogers says tax offi
cials want to work with the Chamber
of Commerce to provide industries
considering Forsyth County with in
formation on personal property, real
property, freeport, etc.
Freeport provides a tax exemption
for items awaiting out-of-state ship
ment, and for stored raw materials
that will be used to make finished
products.
In addition to organizations and
clubs, tax officials also want to work
Chamber breakfast
scheduled for Oct. 25
The Cumming-Forsyth County
Chamber of Commerce will hold
its quarterly breakfast Oct. 25.
The breakfast will be at South
Forsyth Junior Higi School, be
ginning at 7:30 a.m.
Host for the breikfast will be
Gainesville Junior College.
Speaker for the event will be Rich
ard Terrell, a retired vice chair
man of General Motors.
Terrell was named vice chair
man of General Motors in 1974,
serving in that capacity until his
retirement in 1979. He now serves
on the boards of Esmark, NCR
Corporation, Reynolds Metals,
Ashland Oil, MOP AC, Canada Life
Assurance Company.
Terrell also serves on the Board
of Directors of the First National
Bank and Trust Company of
Naples, General Mills and Swan
son.
Reservations for the breakfast
“There are 98 items that are personal property, many unknown
to those not paying,’’ Rogers says. “We are collecting about $750,-
000 on personal property. This should double within 18 months
and should reach $2 million within three to five years.’’
Mac Rogers
with local Realtors.
“We have met with the Forsyth
County chairman of the Board of
Realtors and followed up with a letter
to him,” Rogers says. “As a result of
this, we will conduct two morning
sessions with real estate sales and
office staff to advise them about how
they can help us, and tell them how
we can (help) them.”
To control abuse of the homestead
exemption, tax officials plan to hold
meetings at least twice a year with
contiguous counties.
Meetings like these will help pin
point individuals receiving a home
stead exemption in more than one
county.
Chief Appraiser James Payne says
the homestead exemption may be
applied to only one dwelling the one
in which an individual spends the
most time.
This provision makes it illegal to
apply the homestead exemption to
I m
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Richard Terrell
will be accepted on a first-come,
first-serve basis due to limited
seating. Reservations may be
made by calling the Chamber of
fice.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1985—CUMMING, GA. 30130—28 PAGES
Mum’s the word
are shaped in the form of a butterfly which sits on a hill in her front
yard. “She had what she wanted in mind,” said Mashburn,
pictured here. “We just did the work.” More information on mums,
how to plant them and how to grown them, can be found on page
2A.
lake homes used only on a weekend
basis.
A recent letter to Payne from De-
Kalb County illustrates how counties
can work together to track down
abusers of the homestead exemption.
In the letter, Payne was informed
of a Forsyth County property owner
receiving a homestead exemption in
DeKalb County.
After receiving the letter, the local
tax office investigated the property
owner and found he was receiving a
homestead exemption in Forsyth
County, as well.
Individuals not paying taxes on
personal property will also be the
object of a crack-down by the tax
office.
“There are 98 items that are per
sonal property, many unknown to
those not paying,” Rogers says. “We
are collecting about $750,000 on per
sonal property. This should double
within 18 months and should reach $2
Flea market is this weekend
Humane Society working for shelter
By Chuck Thompson
Gwinnett Daily News
As expressed by one Humane Society volunteer,
it’s “amazing” how many people believe there’s
an animal shelter in Forsyth County.
Donna Singleton says people who call the Hu
mane Society and ask where the shelter is located
are surprised to learn that a county growing as
fast as Forsyth does not have such a facility.
Members of the Humane Society have been
working for some time now to raise money for an
animal shelter, and plan to hold a flea market and
auction on Saturday in the old Upper Elementary
School gym, located next to the school superinten
dent’s office in Cumming.
The flea market begins at 2 p.m. and according
to Betty McDowell, another Humane Society vol
unteer, a “lot of interesting things” will be up for
sale.
She says hot dogs, baked goods and drinks will
be available, so that people can spend as much
time as they want at the flea market without
having to leave for lunch or dinner.
Later that day, at 7 p.m., there will be an
Game preview. Page IB
Staff Photo Dawn Wilson
million within three to five years.”
Other activities in the Tax Asses
sors Office include:
• Cross training personnel: Rogers
says the tax office is in the process of
cross training all personnel in “at
least two different disciplines to
make each employee more versa
tile.”
•Handing out assessment forms to
citizens who visit the tax office: The
forms ask nine questions, including
how long the person had to wait for
service, and whether they were
treated courteously. Citizens are not
asked to sign the assessment forms,
which are designed to help the tax
office evaluate its performance.
One major change in the tax office
is the arrival of a new computer
system to handle tax records.
At present, the county must depend
on a computer service firm in Au
gusta to handle those records.
The process of transferring from
that firm to the new computer is not
yet complete.
Payne says the new computer will
save a tremendous amount of time,
allowing him to punch in records in a
matter of seconds. With the Augusta
firm, he says, getting a record into
the computer system can take three
to six weeks.
auction.
Ms. McDowell says anyone wishing to donate
items for the flea market and auction may bring
them to the old gym, preferably between the hours
of 4 and 8 p.m. on Friday. Items may also be
brought to the old gym on Saturday morning.
In the absence of an animal shelter, Ms. Sin
gleton and five other “foster home” volunteers
provide a place for homeless dogs to stay.
Ms. Singleton says the homes keep an average
of 30 to 40 animals, but have kept as many as 75 at
one time.
Money put in donation boxes placed by the
Humane Society is used to support the foster home
program, providing for the animals’ food and
medical costs.
Some 500 Humane Society dogs and cats were
adopted last year, but Ms. Singleton estimates
that twice as many were put to sleep. Once an
animal is placed in the foster home program, it is
not put to sleep.
The Humane Society is presently looking for
volunteers willing to have foster homes, so that
more animals can be placed in the program.
Ms. Singleton says the Humane Society has land
Discrimination ruled
in 1981 selection
of Extension director
By Chuck Thompson
Gwinnett Daily News
The Georgia Court of Appeals has
overturned a lower court ruling and
ordered that Pat Kilmark, home
economist with the Forsyth County
Extension Service, be made the local
extension director.
Ms. Kilmark filed a charge of dis
crimination on Nov. 5, 1981 with the
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission following the appoint
ment of Hugh McMillian as extension
director.
The commission referred the case
to the Georgia Office of Fair Employ
ment Practices, and a special mas
ter, Cynthia D. Wright, was
appointed to hear the case.
On May 16, 1983, a final order was
issued by Ms. Wright determining
that the Board of Regents had dis
criminated against Ms. Kilmark on
the basis of her sex when it selected
McMillian as director of the Forsyth
County Extension Service.
The position of county extension
director became vacant in August,
1981 upon the retirement of Walter
Rucker, who had served as extension
director for some 28 years.
Two extension agents Ms. Kil
mark, then age 41; and McMillian,
then age 26 were considered for the
director’s position.
On Oct. 16, the district director of
the Extension Service recommended
McMillian for the local director’s
position, and three days later, the
recommendation was approved and
announced.
In her final order on the case, Ms.
Wright ordered:
(1) That Ms. Kilmark be made
director within four weeks of the date
of the order;
(2) That back pay, effective Oct. 20,
1981, be given to Ms. Kilmark, with a
salary increase of 15 percent of her
October, 1981 salary; and that
(3) Reasonable attorney’s fees in
curred by Ms. Kilmark be paid by the
Board of Regents.
On June 23, 1983, five weeks after
Ms. Wright’s final order, a request by
the Board of Regents to stay that
order was granted by the Superior
Court.
Following a review of the case,
Superior Court Judge James E.
Tax collections climb
Forsyth County and the city of
Cumming saw identical 17-percent
increases in local option sales tax
collections during the first nine
months of 1985.
Collections in Forsyth County rose
from $1,539,570 in the first nine
months of 1984 to $1,804,498 in the
same period this year.
The city of Cumming saw collec
tions in the nine-month period in
crease from $209,899 last year to
$246,018 in 1985.
Palmour, 111 changed two points in
Ms. Wright’s final order, ruling:
(1) That back pay given Ms. Kil
mark would be effective Nov. 1, 1982
instead of Oct. 20,1981; and that
(2) The process of selecting a new
extension director be re-opened and
conducted according to law on a non
discriminatory basis, instead of Ms.
Kilmark being made director under
order of the court.
Appeal of Palmour’s June 20, 1984
order was filed by the Board of Re
gents and Ms. Kilmark, and the case
went on to the Georgia Court of Ap
peals, which granted no back pay to
Ms. Kilmark, but ordered Sept. 10,
1985:
(1) That she be made extension
director; and that
(2) The Board of Regents pay her
attorney’s fees.
Carl C. Jones, 111, with the State
Attorney General’s Office, says the
Board of Regents could have filed a
Writ of Certiorari and attempted to
have the case considered by the Su
preme Court of Georgia.
He noted, however, that the Su
preme Court considers only about one
fourth of the cases submitted to it,
and that he, in conjunction with the
Board of Regents, decided that any
chances of further reversal in the
case would not be worth the risk of
losing what had been won (the ap
peals court decision not to grant back
pay to Ms. Kilmark).
Jones said a 10-day period for filing
the Writ of Certiorari expired Sept.
23.
Charles Roland, spokesman for the
Extension Service, says the Court of
Appeals has been asked for a clarifi
cation of all points in its ruling, and
that the Extension Service is still
waiting for that clarification.
Explaining how the Court of Ap
peals ruling would affect the local
extension office, Roland said McMil
lian’s duties as an agent would not
change and that his pay would not be
decreased.
He said that McMillian, like other
personnel in the local extension of
fice, is an extension “agent,” and
that he simply had additional admin
istrative duties as director.
Roland said McMillian’s contribu
tions to Forsyth County as an agent
would not change.
Other local governments and the
amounts collected in their jurisdic
tions are as follows:
Dawson County, $188,852; city of
Dawsonville, S2O 983; city of Roswell,
$1,932,117; city of Alpharetta,
$261,770; Hall County, $4,780,026; city
of Flowery Branch, $60,056; city of
Gainesville, $1,190,104; city of Bu
ford, $7,353; Lumpkin County,
$398,788; and city of Dahlonega,
$132,929.
and almost enough money to build an animal
shelter. In addition, she says contractors have
made offers to help with construction of the
building.
But, funds to run the shelter once it’s built are
needed, she says.
In hopes of getting these funds, Humane Society
volunteers are looking to the county.
Ms. Singleton notes that until the Humane
Society gets county support, or some guaranteed
income, it can’t operate an animal shelter.
At present, she says, each foster home person
must contribute some of their own money to meet
the needs of animals placed in their care.
Ms. Singleton says keeps at least six
foster home dogs in a pen behind her house.
One of the latest additions to the Humane
Society is a portable trailer for transporting dogs
and cats to Tri-County Plaza for adoption.
Before, animals and Humane Society volunteers
had to endure bad weather on adoption days at the
shopping center.
Ms. Singleton says plans are to install a heater
in the trailer, which will be parked at Bank South
in Tri-County Plaza on Saturdays.
35 CENTS