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
