Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
Commerce
Wascher: City ‘not
immune ’ to labor shortage
Braselton
Braselton delays decision on historic home demolition request
By Alex Buffington
alex@mainstreetnews.com
’’Now hiring” signs have be
come the norm across the county
as many businesses in the area
struggle to pull in employees
to fill open positions. The City
of Commerce is not immune to
the labor shortage, city manager
James Wascher said recently.
"We have several open po
sitions in the city that we are
struggling to fill,” Wascher told
the Commerce City Council at
its Sept. 20 meeting. “This is a
common problem you can see
across all sectors during this
time.”
Wascher said they have open
ings in utilities, public works and
the police department.
"These positions are getting
very, very difficult to fill,” he
noted.
Wascher said that for some
positions, the city has received
zero applicants. For others, those
who applied don't meet the qual
ifications.
Wascher said city staff plans
to meet to discuss ideas on build
ing excitement around the open
positions and the benefits of
working for the city.
COUNCIL SETS
MILEAGE RATE
Also at its meeting, the coun
cil voted to set the 2021 millage
rate at 3.86 mills, holding the
rate steady from the 2020 rate.
Mayor Clark Hill said that
maintaining the current rate will
"allow us to do a lot of things
that we need to do as we grow.”
LAND BANK IGA
In other business, the council
voted to move forward with an
intergovernmental agreement
with Jackson County, forming
the Commerce Land Bank.
Land banks acquire rundown
properties, sometimes through
foreclosures, condemnations or
tax sales, then clean them up or
aggregate several parcels so that
the property can be resold to pri
vate investors for an approved
use.
"This would be a great tool
for us to use going forward to
address some of the blighted
properties (in the city),” said Hill.
Commerce has been working
with the county for two years on
the project Wascher said at the
council’s Sept. 7 work session.
He noted that it would require
some seed funding to get the
programs up and going.
The city land bank would
be overseen by a five-member
board with one of those from the
county and four from the city. A
city board of education represen
tative would also be invited as an
advisory members.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the council:
•heard from Rob Jordan,
who commended the city for
putting a “pause” on residential
development and encouraged
the county and municipalities to
join together for a moratorium.
“I would just like to suggest that
Commerce, Jackson County and
all the cities in Jackson County
come together as one and make
the moratorium universal in
Jackson County for at least a
year,” Jordan said at the Sept.
20 council meeting. “Because
after a year, we'll be able to look
back on this current growth spurt
that’s going on in the area...
We'll be better able to judge
what type of impact they’re go
ing to have now and what kind of
an impact they’re going to have
in the future.” During a Sept. 7
Commerce City Council meet
ing, city leaders agreed to a tem
porary “pause” in development
until it can make plans to expand
its infrastructure. The Jackson
County Board of Commission
ers issued a formal moratorium
for the county and extended that
moratorium for one year at its
Sept. 20 meeting.
•approved a request for retail
package sales of beer and wine
(for a new owner) at 517 South
Elm St.
•approved street closures for
the city’s Bands, Brews, BBQ
and Car Show on Oct. 2. Lit
tle, Oak and Pine streets will be
closed from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
on that day. The council also ap
proved a beer garden and event
zone for the event.
•approved a request to slow
down traffic for the Run for
Hope 5K on Oct. 23 from the
start of the race at 8 a.m. until the
race is complete.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The Braselton Town
Council will use 30 more
days to decide the fate of
a 121-year-old home near
downtown.
The council voted 5-0
Monday (Sept. 13) to
postpone action on Lexes
Homes’ request to demol
ish a historic home at 9681
Davis St. It will vote on the
matter at its October busi
ness meeting.
Mayor Bill Orr made the
motion to delay the deci
sion to allow the council
more time to gather infor
mation.
gap, Poe suggested possi
ble use of federal funds re
ceived from the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021,
which are not included in
the proposed budget, and
totals about $14 million.
However, the county is
waiting for final regula
tions in regards to how that
money can be spent before
factoring it into the budget.
A major contributor to
the expenditures are per
sonnel salary and benefit
increases, which make up
the bulk of the budget, said
Poe.
Increases in staffing in
clude several new full-time
and part-time positions and
a proposed average pay
adjustment of 4.25%. Ad
ditionally. staffing benefit
costs are projected to rise
across the board, with in
creases in insurance costs
and defined benefit (DB)
and defined contribution
(DC) pension plans. Addi
tional pay adjustments for
Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) staff are
also budgeted.
“Not only did we want to
do the cost of living adjust
ments and pay our employ
ees. but we're also trying to
recruit new employees too,
“I just think we need a
little more time,” Orr said.
“I’m not prepared to deny
or move forward.”
Councilwoman Becky
Richardson originally
made a motion to deny the
demolition, but that motion
died after failing to gain a
second.
The Davis St. house
pre-dates paved roads in
Braselton and is one of
the contributing build
ings to the town’s histor
ic district. The home was
built in 1900 according to
county records. The town
once had over 30 struc
tures listed as contributing
so we want to keep com
petitive entry level salaries
as well as competitive pay
to retain employees,” said
Poe.
Other drivers of the in
crease include $8.8 million
of capital projects, includ
ing $1.6 million in vehicle
and equipment upgrades.
Similar to the FY21 bud
get, the county will also
allocate $7.8 million, or
12% of the general fund,
for debt service payments.
CAPITAL PROJECTS
The county has a num
ber of capital projects in
its FY22 budget proposal,
including:
• Increase of approx
imately $200,000 due to
2022 being an election year
with the possibility of four
to six elections during the
year based on run-offs and
federal elections and im
provements to the elections
office at Gordon Street at
$1.2 million.
• Capital Improvements
at parks including: new
maintenance building and
major capital repairs to
park and conference center
at Hurricane Shoals Park
totaling $60,000; fencing,
parking, trails, signage,
utilities and amenities at
buildings but at least half
no longer exist, according
to town manager Jennifer
Scott.
If enough buildings are
removed, the town could
lose its historic district
designation. It was not
certain, however, what
that threshold of buildings
is.
Scott said she learned
that the original portion of
the house — which con
sists of two to three rooms
— could be moved from
the lot, but not the addi
tions.
Ken Gary, of Lexes
Homes, said during the
Tanner Park at Walnut
Creek totaling $150,000;
phase one planning and
engineering, road parking,
signage, trails and ameni
ties at River Glen Park to
taling $150,000; dog park
and trails at main court
house campus at $50,000.
• A $ 300.000 reroofing
project at Commerce Ser
vice Center.
• Updates to the Agri
cultural Center including
an RV park, arena lighting
and one dump trailer at
$140,000.
• West Jackson EMS ex
pansion station at $750,000
• Public works special
projects, road projects and
Skelton Road improve
ments come to $4.3 mil
lion.
• Phase two of the ani
mal control shelter expan
sion and the transfer station
upgrade at $1 million each.
• Water system improve
ments at Nicholson Water
Authority at $150,000.
• Airport runway and
taxiway pavement rehabil
itation project at $200,000.
HIGHLIGHTS
Other highlights in the
proposed budget are:
• Proposed equipment
and vehicle purchases at
council’s Thursday (Sept.
9) work session that the
company has no interest
saving the home or mov
ing it. Gary said the lot
will become a green space
if the home is demolished.
He reiterated that Lexes
has no desire to preserve
the structure.
“We just do not want
that old house.” he said.
“It doesn’t equate to a
benefit to us.”
CLOSED SESSION
After meeting in closed
session, the council voted
to authorize Orr to nego
tiate a renewal of Scott’s
contract.
$1.6 million.
• Projected increases
in Local Option Sales Tax
(LOST) of $1.8 million
and Tag Ad Valorem Tax
(TAVT) of $1.1 million
from FY2 based on collec
tions through Aug. 2021.
Also, the Insurance Premi
um Tax (IPT) is projected
to increase by 5.5% from
FY21.
• Survey and place mon
uments at Jackson/Barrow
county line at $39,000 for
professional fees, survey
ing and monument place
ment.
• Anticipated 10%-15%
increase in renewal of vari
ous maintenance contracts,
• Need to acquire addi
tional data storage capaci
ty plus general increase in
cost of purchasing comput
er equipment projected at
$75,000 and security soft
ware increases in users, li
censes and vendor costs at
$46,000.
• Project increase in
contract price for third
party inmate medical care
at $35,000 and increase of
$47,000 for new contract
with Public Defender’s of
fice, which was approved
for the July 1,2021 — June
30, 2022 fiscal year.
COVID continued from 1A
the county. That’s down from the week prior, but is still
double the state average rate per capita.
There have been 12,044 COVID cases in Jackson Coun
ty since the start of the pandemic, the fifth highest per capita of
any county in the state.
Forty percent of county residents are fully vaccinated.
The county’s three school systems reported the following at the
end of last week:
•Commerce City Schools — 5 active cases between students
and staff, down from 27 the week prior
•Jefferson City Schools — 16 active cases between students
and staff, down from 26 the week prior
•Jackson County — 59 new cases (down 35.2% from the
week prior)
Moratorium continued from 1A
Jackson County and all the cities in
Jackson County come together as
one and make the moratorium uni
versal in Jackson County for at least
a year,” said Rob Jordan.
The BOC’s meeting saw a packed
room of people, many wearing green
shirts to show support for the mor
atorium. A half-dozen people spoke
in favor the moratorium with most
of those coming from the west side
of Jackson County where residential
development has been most intense
in recent years.
Mary Adams, owner of Grace Re
alty Group in Hoschton, said that
despite her professional reliance on
selling homes, she supports the mor
atorium.
“I sell these homes, (but) I don’t
want to see anymore right now,” she
said. “There’s far too many of them
popping up in our community and all
around our county.”
Adams said she would like to see
changes made in the process of ap
proving new developments in the
county by having new schools and
roads in place before development
happens. She also called for impact
fees in the county to help offset the
cost of growth.
One person spoke in opposition to
the moratorium.
Wayne Whitelaw of Jefferson said
the county already has regulations
in place to control growth. He said
that many of the traffic problems are
on state roads that the county has no
control over and that infrastructure
should not be built ahead of growth.
Whitelaw also questioned how the
new industries coming to the county
are going to hire workers if there is
no local housing available.
Budget continued from 1A
Commerce continued from 1A
on the size, siding and mod
ulation of the residences,
along with entrance and buf
fer requirements.
CHURCH MILL
REQUEST WITHDRAWN
In other business, a church
that planned to redevelop a
section of the old mill with
drew its request.
New Grace had requested
a conditional use to allow a
religious institution at the
821 S. Elm St. location (the
historic old mill on the south
side of town). The church
had planned to redevelop a
section of the mill to use for
its church.
The request was with
drawn due to the inability
to secure permanent parking
for the facility.
ASHWORTH
REQUEST TABLED
Also at its meeting, the
council tabled a rezoning
request for an existing mo
bile home neighborhood to
allow additional time to re
solve some issues with the
request.
Property owner Michael
Scott is requesting a re
zoning of 19.5 acres at 935
Homer Rd. (the Ashworth
Mobile Home community).
Scott is requesting a change
from R-l to R-5, along with
variances.
Scott has owned the prop
erty — which has been used
for decades as a mobile
home community — since
the mid 1980s.
He reportedly wants to
bring in a few more mobile
homes to the property, but
was told the property didn't
have the proper zoning for
a mobile home community.
Scott then filed a request to
rezone the property from
R-l to R-5 to match the
existing use of the proper
ty. along with variances for
setbacks.
City leaders can’t find
any records of when the
property was annexed into
the city or why it shows
up on city zoning maps as
R-l (single family homes)
rather than R-5 for mobile
home parks.
In addition, Wascher
said there was apparently
an agreement between the
city and property owner for
an easement in return for
providing taps for the mo
bile homes, but again, no
records of that agreement
have been found.
NOTICE
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held at the
Jackson County Administrative Building on September 29, 2021 at 6:30PM and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 48-5-32 does hereby publish the
following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.
CURRENT 2021 PROPERTY TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
u
UNINCORPORATED
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
N
Real & Personal
1,488,377,336
1,548,868,626
1,667,671,079
1,766,333,206
1,853,245,334
2,140,021,135
N
C
Motor Vehicles
51,267,960
39,764,120
32,435,090
27,795,850
25,581,170
21,805,118
V
Mobile Homes
5,579,991
5,214,441
5,020,410
5,111,603
5,223,703
4,301,664
O
A
Timber-100%
395,044
137,762
368,014
400,284
250,190
318,256
R
U
Heavy Duty Equipment
0
3,095
0
0
0
0
O
E
Gross Digest
1,545,620,331
1,593,988,044
1,705,494,593
1,799,640,943
1,884,300,397
2,166,446,173
R
Less Exemptions
302,153,054
310,053,660
328,344,613
326,667,326
333,835,859
315,014,275
A
NET DIGEST VALUE
1,243,467,277
1,283,934,384
1,377,149,980
1,472,973,617
1,550,464,538
1,851,431,898
Gross Maintenance &
E
13.9000
13.9000
13.9000
13.9000
13.9000
11.9000
R
Operation Millage
A
Less Rollbacks
A
T
(Local Option Sales Tax &
4.3000
4.4840
4.4840
4.7340
4.9500
3.8400
R
E
Insurance Premium)
E
NET M&O MILLAGE RATE
9.6000
9.4160
9.4160
9.1660
8.9500
8.0600
A
TAX
NET M&O TAXES LEVIED
$11,937,286
$12,089,526
$12,967,244
$13,501,276
$13,876,658
$14,922,541
INCORPORATED
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
N
C
Real & Personal
1,267,265,809
1,420,935,537
1,580,189,060
1,721,509,125
1,953,257,285
2,285,769,069
Motor Vehicles
29,342,370
22,876,680
18,209,430
15,848,600
13,760,770
11,876,660
O
V
Mobile Homes
1,939,666
1,765,624
1,676,124
1,706,232
1,712,059
1,707,912
R
A
Timber-100%
133,332
0
15,107
4,937
46,140
0
O
U
Heavy Duty Equipment
0
42,023
0
0
0
0
R
E
Gross Digest
1,298,681,177
1,445,619,864
1,600,089,721
1,739,068,894
1,968,776,254
2,299,353,641
A
Less Exemptions
296,504,409
331,389,513
331,759,464
374,593,436
360,550,264
394,402,504
E
NET DIGEST VALUE
1,002,176,768
1,114,230,351
1,268,330,257
1,364,475,458
1,608,225,990
1,904,951,137
D
Gross Maintenance &
13.9000
13.9000
13.9000
13.9000
13.9000
11.9000
R
Operation Millage
A
A
Less Rollback
T
2.7900
2.9670
2.9670
3.0870
3.4530
2.4120
E
(Local Option Sales Tax)
A
NET M&O MILLAGE RATE
11.1100
10.9330
10.9330
10.8130
10.4470
9.4880
TAX
NET M&O TAXES LEVIED
$11,134,184
$12,181,880
$13,866,655
$14,754,073
$16,801,137
$18,074,176
TOTAL COUNTY
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
V
TOTAL DIGEST VALUE
2,245,644,045
2,398,164,735
2,645,480,237
2,837,449,075
3,158,690,528
3,756,383,035
%
C Oy
TOTAL M&O TAXES LEVIED
$23,071,470
$24,271,407
$26,833,899
$28,255,349
$30,677,795
$32,996,717
Net Tax $ Increase
$1,199,937
$2,562,492
$1,421,450
$2,422,445
$2,318,923
Net Tax % Increase
5.20%
10.56%
5.30%
8.57%
7.56%