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Thursday, September 1, 2022 | Volume 135 Number 20 | Jasper, Georgia | 22 pages, 2 sections | Published Weekly | $1.00
Schools and county to cut tax rates
as property values rise across area
County to use
$1.5M in new
revenue for public
safety salaries
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Pickens County commissioners
and the Pickens County Board of
Education have proposed
millage/tax rates that are lower than
the 2021 rates. Leaders credit an in
crease in the tax digest for the reduc
tion.
Despite a lower millage rate for
both entities, the increase to the tax
digest in 2022 means they will still
collect more tax revenue than in
2021 if approved. Pickens County
will use their additional revenue for
first responders’ salaries. Leaders
with fire and EMS and the sheriff’s
office blame low pay for making it
difficult for them to attract and retain
employees.
At a called meeting Monday,
Aug. 29, the Pickens County Board
of Commissioners recommended
their millage rate be reduced slightly
by 0.051 mils, down to 7.438 from
the 2021 rate of 7.489. If commis
sioners ultimately approve the pro
posal, this will be at least the fifth
consecutive year the county has
rolled-back the rate.
Commissioners will vote to ap
prove the rate at a called meeting
Friday, Sept. 9
The Pickens County Board of Ed
ucation held a called meeting on Au
gust 26 in which Superintendent
Tony Young recommended a millage
rate of 12.9. If approved the rate
would be a 1.4 mil decrease from
last year’s rate of 14.3, and will be
the seventh year in a row the rate has
been rolled back. According to Chief
Financial Officer Amy Smith the
proposed rate is the lowest since
1999, which is as far back as her
records go.
The school board voted for tenta
tive approval with finalization likely
to come at their regular September 8
meeting.
The gross digest for 2022 is up
over $218 million. It includes real
and personal property, motor vehi
cles, mobile homes, timber, and
heavy duty equipment. (See full
five-year digest and tax levies on
pages 5A, 6A and 8A). This is the
most significant increase to the di
gest for at least the last five years.
Pickens County’s lower millage
rate of 7.438 in 2022 will produce
over $1.5 million in additional taxes
revenue, or an additional 12.65 per
cent over last year.
In a later interview, Pickens Com
mission Chair Kris Stancil said of
the additional revenue, “We are
committed to allocating every bit of
the $1.5 million to public safety
salaries.”
Commissioners had discussions
about using the additional revenue
for those salaries in recent planning
retreats, but at that time they were
not certain what the dollar amount
would be because the digest was not
complete. This approach will allow
the salaries to be funded in a regular
budget with no tax increase.
The county has a target of
$50,000 for an entry-level position
in both fire and EMS and the sher
iff’s office, which is “a little below
our neighbors to the north, not trying
to compete with metro.” Stancil said
this would not make Pickens leaders,
but would get them “way, way
closer.”
The announcement was not made
See Tax Rates on 8A
Bus driver
to be
terminated
after wreck,
DUI
Second bus driver
charged with DUI
suspended as
investigation
continues
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
One Pickens County
school bus driver will be ter
minated and another sus
pended after both were
arrested for DUIs directly
after running bus routes.
One of those drivers, Jef
frey Tucker, ran off the road
during an afternoon route
with students on board on
Friday, Aug. 19. He was ad
ministered a breathalyzer im
mediately following the
route and charged with a
DUI. According to an August
24 press release from Pick
ens County Schools, Super
intendent Young said Tucker
registered a .03 on the breath
test.
The system reported that
no students were harmed in
the crash, which occurred off
Fortner Road. The bus slid
off the side of the road and
into a ditch.
The driver in the second
incident, Tammy Lynn De-
cerbo, was charged with a
DUI for narcotics while in
her personal vehicle approx
imately an hour after finish
ing her route. This incident
occurred the Monday after
the first incident.
“There were no indica
tions that this driver was im
paired while driving her bus
that morning,” the release
states. “However, notwith
standing that, she will be sus
pended until the charges
pending against her are re
solved.”
In a later interview, Young
said that his position as a su
perintendent is that there is
an absolute zero tolerance
policy for bus drivers. When
asked if their policies regard
ing drug testing for drivers
would change, he said, “We
are going to continue to fol
low state guidelines, and if
we need to do more we can
review that and the board can
certainly look at increasing
those [random drug] tests if
we feel it is needed.”
Over the years there have
been a few isolated, minor
incidents with school buses,
Young said, but no major
crashes, and that overall the
system has had a very safe
bus fleet with quality drivers.
“You can’t control people
who make really bad deci-
See BUS DRIVERS on 8A
Dredging underway at city water source
Photo/Angela Reinhardt
An excavator clears silt from Long Swamp Creek last Wednesday, Aug. 24. The dredging is part of regular main
tenance near the city’s intake.
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
If you’ve driven down
Cove Road in the past week
you might be wondering if
the city has Moses on the
payroll, because Long
Swamp Creek near the
mines is pretty much MIA.
But instead of Moses and
the Red Sea, there’s just a
guy on an excavator in the
middle of a muddy creek
bed.
Where’d the water go?
That’s what we asked the
city, whose Public Informa
tion Officer Kim Goldener
told us the scene is part of
regular maintenance activity
at the creek “that EPD al
lows us to perform as a part
of our surface water with
drawal permit.”
The dredging work cleans
out silt accumulation around
the water intake. The silt gets
scooped out by the backhoe,
stockpiled, dried out, then
See DREDGING on 8A
SEPTEMBER 14 • MARBLE HILL, GEORGIA
JeepFest back for year 11
Staff Reports
Sheriff’s JeepFest opens
for its 11th annual event of
off roading, concerts and
trails this week. It runs
Thursday evening through
Sunday.
More than 1,500 Jeep
owners had pre-registered
and organizers say that
number could double by
Sunday with people who
register in person.
The format is much the
same as in past years with a
couple of notable excep
tions: the Thursday Night
Ride, a source of traffic
frustration for local mo-
See JEEPFEST on 8A
The “quiet commissioner”
Jerry Barnes passes away
Pickens County’s fonner
west district commissioner
Jerry Barnes passed away
on Saturday, August 27.
Barnes was known as the
county’s “quiet commis
sioner” who worked behind
the scenes in that role for
nearly a decade.
He retired from the posi
tion at the end of July.
Barnes was also in
volved in many volunteer
activities, and was known
as a selfless, hard-worker
who had long-reaching im
pacts in the community. His
obituary is on page 7A.
The following is the
statement made by Pickens
County Government fol
lowing his death: “It is with
a very heavy heart that we
announce the passing of
Jerry Barnes. Commis
sioner Barnes served the
citizens of Pickens County
as Post 1 Commissioner
from January 1, 2013 to
July 21, 2022.
He will be deeply missed
by all. Not only through his
service as commissioner,
Photo/Pickens County Gov
ernment
Jerry Barnes
Jerry spent his life serving
the citizens of Pickens
County.
“His quiet and calm de
meanor was his trademark
in public meetings, but his
wisdom and influence
helped to shape so much.
We would like to ask that
everyone remember Jerry’s
wife, children, grandchil
dren, and so many loved
ones in your prayers. Chair
man Stancil has ordered
that all flags flown at
county buildings be low
ered to half-mast until the
date of his funeral.”
ArtWalk Jasper
coming
to Main Street
First event
Friday, Sept. 9
Page 9A
Community
Jam-packed
September
ahead. See
community
calendar.
Page 6-7B
Classes of
‘71/72 and ‘73
hold joint
reunion
Page 3B
Obituaries - 7A
• Daniel Ciorrocco
• Idella Elliott
• Jerry Barnes
• Selena Hamrick
• Tammy Trippe
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