Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JUNE 16. 2022
J
\
From the Progress files
Turning Back
The Pages
/
YEARS
From June 12, 1997
Historic log cabin to be moved
Preparations are underway to
move the Kirby-Jenkins-Quinton
Cabin from its site at the school bus
parking lot to the grassy area north of
the Old Jail. The project has been un
dertaken by the Marble Valley Histor
ical Society in an effort to preserve the deteriorating
structure, give it an attractive setting and make it available
to the public on a year-round basis.
School board finalizes athletic facility plan
In a special called meeting Monday, the board of educa
tion finalized plans for the athletic facilities at the new high
school, approving $1.5 million in projects.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Operations and
Personnel Rick Little, when the original bid for the high
school was submitted the board rejected the bid for the ath
letic amenities because they were too high.
C50
YEARS
cepted blood must
of Pickens County
From June 15, 1972
Bloodmobile coming June 16
The Red Cross Bloodobile will
again visit Jasper on June 16, at the
Landrum Community Building be
tween the hours of 10 a.m. and 3:30
p.m.
A quota of 120 units of ac-
be received in order for all the residents
to continue to be covered.
Library News
The Summer Reading Club has started with a bang and
more than 70 children have registered since May 25. And
the fact that around 300 books are being checked out daily
is a strong indication that those 70 children have inquiring
minds.
Comic from
the 1972 issue:
YEARS
From June 19, 1947
y WGST to build FM station on
* - Burnt Mountain
The Federal Communication
Commission has announced its ap
proval of an application for the Board
of Regents of the University System
of Georgia, operators of radio station
WGST, to construct and operate a Frequency Modulation
station to be located on Burnt Mountain. This station will
broadcast on an effective radiated power of 345,000 watts,
which is the most powerful FM station licensed to Ga.
Community cannery will open Tuesday
The Pickens County Community Canning Plant will be
open for operation starting next Tuesday. The doors will be
open to accept products from 8 a.m., until 3 p.m.
The price of the cans will be one cent higher this year.
The reason for the increase in price is the increase in cost
of cans. Also, up until this year the government has paid
employees of the canning plant to carry on a food preser
vation program. This help from the government has been
suspended. The cost of number three cans processed will
be 6.5 cents and number two cans 5 cents.
Sugar rationing
Sugar rationing was ended on the night of June 18th so
far as home users, cafes and hotels are concerned, but it is
still rationed to industrial users and ceiling prices are still
in effect. This ends the last of the war time rationing so far
as the general public is concerned.
The Pickens Progress - covering this
county for 135 years. Subscribe today
PickensProgress.com
Jasper’s audit shows modest revenue increase
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
The city of Jasper re
ceived a positive audit report
at their June 6 meeting, with
revenues and available re
serves increased over the
previous year.
“This is a very easy report
to present because all num
bers are up,” Rushton ac
counting firm’s Sam Latimer
told council.
Financial highlights noted
in the report are: The city
ended the year with a net po
sition of $27,615 million,
which is the amount that the
city’s assets exceeded its lia
bilities at year end, Decem
ber 31. This is up from the
city’s net position in 2020 of
$24,974 million. The city
also ended the year with
$4,754 million in combined
ending fund balances in their
governmental funds. Ap
proximately 55 percent, or
$2.6 million, of this is avail
able for spending at the city’s
discretion.
The city’s General Fund
shows an increase in revenue
of 12 percent. Property taxes
are up 22 percent, or
$250,000. Local Option
Sales Tax collections are up
$256,000, or 15 percent.
Franchise tax revenue is up
19 percent. Intergovernmen
tal revenue is up 100 percent,
which is the CARES Act
federal funding, or $200,000.
Building permits are up 46
percent, or $61,000. Fines
and forfeitures have also in
creased.
Expenditures are up four
percent.
Water and sewage fund
operating revenue was up
14.7, or $703,000, the major
ity of which came from
charges for services. “Avery,
very healthy increase,” La
timer said.
Water sales were up by
$713,000 or 25 percent due
to, “Lots of new develop
ments on line this year,” he
said. Sewer sales were up 12
percent. Meter installation
was up $120,000 or 59 per
cent.
As of December 31,
2021, the city had $5,874
million in long-term debt,
which was an increase of
$669,267 from 2020. “The
increase is attributed to the
refunding of existing GEFA
loans with a revenue bond at
a much lower interest rate.
The excess equity was put
aside for future water system
improvements.
In a later interview,
Jasper’s Assistant City Clerk
and Public Information Offi
cer Kim Goldener answered
a few questions about the
2021 audit.
•What are some of the
highlights of the audit?
In 2021, the city of Jasper
General Fund experienced a
modest increase in revenues
(11.9 percent) with a com
mensurate increase in expen
ditures (4.1 percent). The
increase in revenues was a
result of unanticipated col
lections of permits and fines,
as well as a slight uptick in
V
• i
Bring (n This Ad
& Get
1/2 OFF Pork Plate
with the purchase of a
Pork Plate
and
2 Drinks
f Not Ualid With Other Specials J
TENDERS • WINGS • SALADS
CATERING* DINE IN OR TAKE OUT
706-H5-RI8S (7427)
FAX 706-635-7*29
289 Highland Crossing • East Ellijay, GA 30540
Across from Walmart
Gain on Sale of Assets
Miscellaneous Revenue
0%
Operating Grants and
Contributions
2%
Investment Income
0%
Property Taxes
26%
Chart/City of Jasper Audit Report, Rushton & Company
A chart showing the city of Jasper’s revenues of governmental activities for the year
ending December 31, 2021.
Chart/City of Jasper Audit Report, Rushton & Company
A chart showing the city of Jasper’s expenditures of governmental activities for the
year ending December 31, 2021.
taxes due to growth. The
city’s Enterprise Funds
(water/sewerage) experi
enced an increase in rev
enues of 14.7 percent. The
increase was mainly due to
meter installation requests
and sewerage tie-ons. The
city ended the year with an
unassigned fund balance of
expenditures of 53.7 percent.
This provides the City with
6.4 months of operating ex
penses.
•What areas did the city
improve the most year-
over-year, from 2020 to
2021?
One of the city’s major
improvements in 2021 over
2020 was in its net position.
The change was mainly due
to an increase in collections
in charges for service, taxes,
and the first full year ac
counting of SPLOST rev
enue. In 2021, the city
invested in some major cap
ital assets that will result in
more efficient operations.
•What are some of the
city’s financial goals mov
ing forward?
City council is investing
in master planning for both
the utility systems and plan
ning and development. The
goal is to have all the neces
sary data to make sound fi
nancial and infrastructure
decisions on projects that
will affect the city for years
to come. For the 2023 budget
cycle, city council will be
implementing a new five-
year Capital Improvement
Plan. This will provide an
outlook for future infrastruc
ture needs and associated
costs. As always, the city
will strive to be good finan
cial stewards of public hinds,
and to maximize the use of
federal and state funding to
minimize local costs.
•What areas need im
provement?
The city is embarking on
a high-performance initiative
to build efficient processes
that will lend to better and
more affordable service de
livery. Infrastructure and in
dustry standard operations
are a high priority on the
city’s horizon.
METAL ROOFING
/V DAWSONVILLE
Xj^CkMETAL PRODUCTS
^ ^ Your M«tal Roofing Specialist
BUY DIRECT in Dawsonville
Painted Galvalume Metal Roofing
18 Colors In Stock
Delivery & Contractor Referrals Available
82 Etowah River Road • Dawsonville
706-265-3099 • 800-519-4616
PICKENS COUNTY SCHOOL
DISTRICT BUDGET HEARING
June 23, 2022
4:00 p. m.
100 D. B. Carroll Street
Jasper, GA 30143
The Pickens County School District
will hold a budget meeting to solicit
public input. The meeting will be
Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 4:00
p.m. at the Pickens County Board of
Education Central Office located at
100 D. B. Carroll Street,
Jasper, Georgia
Greenhouse - Sealed Bid Sale
Pickens County Board of Education is accepting
bids on the current greenhouse located behind the
Mountain Education Charter High School. The
greenhouse can be viewed from AW Lawson Blvd.
• All sealed bids are due by
1:00 p.m. on 6-16-2022.
• The greenhouse must be removed from the
school grounds within 90 days of the acceptance
of the bid by the School Board.
• Bids must be in an envelope addressed to
Stacy Gilleland, Chief of Operations, 100 D.B. Car-
roll Street, Jasper, GA 3014. The envelope must be
sealed and marked with the name and address of
the company or individual.