About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2020)
6A Friday, June 19, 2020 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com LOCAL ‘It is time for that to happen’ Flowery Branch mayor wants Jim Crow Road name changed BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Flowery Branch Mayor Mike Miller is propos ing changing the name of Jim Crow Road to G.C. Crow Road, in an effort to remove the seg regation-era reference while honoring a long-ago community leader. The move would only affect the city’s portion of the road, or just 400 feet of the 2-mile road. The rest of the road, which runs from McEver Road to Old Fed eral Road near Lake Lanier, is in unincorporated Hall County. “I felt for years it should be changed and, out of concern for the family honoring that person, who was a resident of this area for many years and did lots of good in the city, we should honor him,” Miller said during the Flowery Branch City Coun cil meeting Thursday, June 18. “But with everything going on in the world at this point, I feel that it is time to change that name.” Miller said he would bring a resolution to that effect at the council meeting set for July 2. The road is named after Glennon “Jim” Crow. Miller said G.C. Crow is “how he legally signed his checks and documents.” He said the family has indicated it doesn’t want the name changed, but if it were changed, G.C. Crow Road “would be their wishes,” the mayor said. “Hopefully, the council will support that,” Miller said. “It is time for that to happen.” Councilman Ed Asbridge said not so fast. “ I think we might be voting too early on (the name change),” he said. “I would like to think about that. At first glance, I think any body would want to change the name, but as far as I know, we haven’t had a person who lives in the city complain about it. “I just think we shouldn’t do it in the heat of battle.” Flowery Branch resident Leah Long, who lives off Jim Crow Road, addressed the council on the issue. “As it stands today, I believe the current name of the road is not truly honoring the memory of Mr. Crow or the contributions that he made to this community,” she said. “Because of the racist sym bolism that the name Jim Crow implies, I propose dropping ‘Jim’... but keeping the ‘Crow’ in some fashion.” Petitions are circulating online for and against the name change. Those pushing for the name change also decry its racist implications. “The longstanding history of slavery and mis treatment of African Americans is being repre sented by this street name,” the pro-name change petition states. Those for keeping the name call for those push ing the change to “stop the race baiting.” “Leave our town and our roads alone,” the anti name change petition says. “This is not a racial issue. Educate yourself and stop trying to dishonor this man.” Asbridge Miller SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Petitions are circulating both for and against changing the name of Jim Crow Road in Flowery Branch. During a city council meeting Thursday, June 18, Flowery Branch Mayor Mike Miller proposed changing the name of the road to G.C. Crow Road. Miller said he would bring a resolution to that effect at the council meeting set for July 2. Flowery Branch resident Leah Long tells Flowery Branch City Council on Thursday, June 18, that while she respects the Jim Crow Road name honoring a community leader, she believes the name should be changed because of racist implications. JEFF GILL The Times State jobless rate shows improvement last month BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Georgia’s preliminary May jobless rate is 9.7%, dropping from April’s 12.6%, according to the Georgia Department of Labor. The number of those working was up 144,877 over April, but down 480,592 compared to this time last year, and totals 4.4 million, the department said in a news release Thursday, June 18. “I think we are going to continue to see big drops in the unemploy ment rate as Georgia continues to open back up,” Commissioner Mark Butler said. “We have to remember that the recent unemploy ment was not caused by an economic catalyst, but instead by a medical emergency. Those jobs are still out there for the most part.” The Hall County area’s unemployment rate for May was not available Thursday. The jobless rate hit 10.6% in April, an all- time high. In April 2019, Hall’s jobless rate was 2.6%. Hall’s jobless rate increased by more than 7 percentage points between March and April 2020, during wide spread business shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate in March was 3.4%, according to the labor department. “I think as Georgia starts to reopen, we’ve got to really take a look at where the permanent job losses are going to be,” Butler said. “Through our strate gic partnerships, we can help match those individuals who may have lost their job to the many job openings cur rently available, even if that takes some retraining.” More than 95,000 jobs are listed online at EmployGeorgia.com. The department says it offers online resources for finding a job, building a resume and helping with other reemployment needs. Flowery Branch gives initial OK to budget BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Flowery Branch’s proposed tax rate for 2020-21 got initial approval at the City Council meeting Thursday, June 18. Final approval is set for Thursday, June 25. The city’s proposed tax rate is stay ing the same at 3.264 mills, with 1 mill equal to $1 per $1,000 in assessed property value. Under that formula, a $250,000 home would be taxed at $326.40. If approved, that would mean a hike for residents with rising prop erty assessments. The tax bill would remain the same for homeown ers who saw no change in home values. Increasing home values are lifting property tax revenues for the city. To keep the revenue amount the same as in 2019, the city would have to drop the tax rate to 3.178 mills. A vote also is set June 25 on the city’s proposed $5.1 million budget for fiscal 2021, which begins July 1. The current budget is $5.2 million. While property tax revenues are gen erally the same in the proposed budget, there are revenue losses elsewhere, such as in local option sales taxes, which are dropping from $1 million to $750,000, or by 25%. Local governments have had to wres tle with lost revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic. Jackson EMC resumes disconnections after suspending them amid pandemic BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Jackson EMC will soon resume discon necting services when bills are not paid. The membership-owned electric coop erative suspended disconnects March 16 but will resume July 15. Members who are still unable to pay their bills are encouraged to contact Jackson EMC by July 10 to avoid disconnection. April Sorrow, director of public relations and communication for Jackson EMC, said the organization would work with its mem bers struggling to make payments. “Our goal is to keep electricity running to everyone’s homes,” she said. “We’ve grown accustomed to a lifestyle that really requires electricity, so that’s always our goal. Our customer service representatives are here to help work on those situations on a case-by-case basis.” Sorrow said all situations are different and Jackson EMC would offer options to those who need them. Sorrow said in some cases, Jackson EMC would be open to allowing members to “pay a little bit now and then a little bit later.” She also said there are many organizations in Hall County that are offering financial help to keep the power on, including the Division of Family and Children Services, the Salvation Army and United Way. “We’ve been working with members as they reach out to us to discuss their situ ation,” she said. “Working with them on making sure they can keep power running to their homes and that they can make pay ments in a way that best works for them. ” How to get help Organizations providing financial help to those struggling to pay utility bills in Flail County: ■ Division of Family and Children Services: 770-532-5298 ■ Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program: 866-674-6327 ■ Ninth District Heat/Cooling Assistance: 855-636-3108 ■ Partnership Against Domestic Violence: 404-873-1766 ■ Salvation Army: 770-534-7589 ■ First Baptist Church: 770-534- 7354 ■ St. Vincent DePaul: 678-892- 6163 ■ United Way: 706-353-1313 State lawmakers agree to 50-cent fee on ride-hailing trips ATLANTA — A bill that would impose a flat tax of 50 cents on trips in Georgia taxis, ride-hailing services and limousines is on its way to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his sig nature or veto. The Senate voted 41-3 to approve a con ference report on Thursday that says ser vices such as Uber and Lyft won’t be subject to regular sales tax, which can be 7% or higher. State officials have argued that the ser vices were already taxable, saying taxis and limousines pay the levy. But the companies had said they’re not subject to sales taxes and Uber has been disputing a $22 million tax bill. Even if the services escape their current tax dispute, the General Assembly earlier this year passed a law requiring third-party online marketplaces to collect sales taxes on behalf of sellers beginning April 1, rop ing in Uber and Lyft. The services argued the regular sales tax, as high as 8.9% in Atlanta, is too much to charge on a trip. Efforts to entirely exempt the companies from taxes failed. A revenue estimate suggested the move would bring in $24 million to $45 million in the first full year, higher than the estimate of state sales tax revenue from ride hailing. But local governments would lose sales tax revenue on ride hailing, a projected loss of $15 million to $25 million a year. The bill would dedicate the money to transit projects statewide. The fee would rise with inflation. The measure was added to a previously unrelated bill that would exempt farmers from having to pay state income tax on relief payments received after 2018’s Hur ricane Michael. Associated Press
