Newspaper Page Text
Page 4B
August 24, 2022
iReporter
After drama, council to keep city parks open 2417
The City of Forsyth has a picture of the fenced playground at Kynette Park on its website.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Forsyth city parks will now be
open 24/7, but restrooms and
restricted areas like the skate
track, splash pad and ball fields
will continue to be locked at
night. Council member Julius
Stroud motioned for the change
at the Aug. 15 council meeting,
and John Howard seconded the
motion.
Stroud said a change is neces
sary after the “drama” a couple
of months ago when a Forsyth
police officer told two men, in
cluding his nephew, they weren’t
allowed to be in Kynette Park
after dark. Stroud confronted
the officer, Jeremy Malone, but
Malone said he was only enforc
ing the rules council had set.
Stroud first said that definite
hours need to be posted because
the current signage that the park
is closed from sun down to sun
up is too vague. He then said
there is no reason that open areas
of the parks, such as the walking
track, should ever be closed. He
said that he and others enjoy us
ing the track in the early morning
or after sunset. He said the pavil
ions should be open since there is
no way to secure them.
However, Stroud said that
restrooms and other facilities,
like ball fields and the splash pad,
where vandalism can cause prop
erty damage, should be locked.
He said the gate to the city’s park
on Country Club Drive should
be closed at night because there
is parking outside of the gate and
people can walk to the track and
other open areas from the park
ing lot.
Stroud said the city should
make sure the back side of the
track is well lighted and should
add light sensors. Council mem
ber Mike Dodd commented that
he agreed that the trails should
be open but not the pavilions.
Mayor Eric Wilson said there is
a problem with opening parts
of the parks but locking the
restrooms since the city needs
to provide “facilities for those
who come to use the park facili
ties.” Stroud said there is a city
in South Georgia that opens its
parks but not its restrooms.
“We just need proper signage,”
said Stroud.
Council didn’t address the
question of a need for more
security/police patrol with the
parks open at night. The city, like
many businesses, has been expe
riencing problems with keeping
full staffs, including its police
force. Forsyth has major parks at
Country Club Drive and Kynette
and smaller parks at Lee Street,
Milledge Circle, Hill Street and
Park Circle. Only the two larger
parks have been closed during
night hours.
Forsyth Antiques & More hosts Business After Hours
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Forsyth Antiques & More,
816 Highway 41 South, hosted
the Forsyth Monroe County
Chamber of Commerce Busi
ness After Hours on Thursday,
Aug. 18. Chamber members
and guests dropped in to see
all the new and interesting
items at the huge renovated
warehouse where more than
70 vendors are constantly
changing their inventories
of unique, hard-to-come-by
finds. Attendees also came
to meet new members of the
business community and
interact with familiar ones,
updating one another on local
happenings and exchanging
ideas.
Forsyth Antiques is owned
and operated by Cindy Allen,
Dianne Hattaway and Carol
Robeson and is open from 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
It has continued to grow since
opening last November.
As well as door prizes, a
highlight of Business after
Hours at Forsyth Antiques
What could be better than chatting with friends while looking
at thousands of attractively arranged antiques & more, many
of which evoke long forgotten memories? Add peach ice cream
from Dickey s Peach Farm to that.
was peach ice cream from
Dickey’s Peach Farm. It
brought smiles to lots of faces,
as these pictures show.
The Chamber of Commerce
invites its members to host
and to attend Business After
Hours, which is held monthly
on the third Thursday. For
more information about Busi
ness After Hours, call Rebecca
Stone or Pam Davis at the
Chamber at 478-994-9239
BOE cuts property tax rate to take in same funds as 21
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Monroe County Board of
Education will set its millage
rate for 2022 property taxes at a
called meeting on Thursday, Aug.
25 at 5:30 p.m. at Central Office,
25 Brooklyn Ave., Forsyth. The
board has advertised that it plans
to set the millage rate at 15.024,
which is the rollback rate.
The rollback rate is the rate cal
culated to collect approximately
the same amount of taxes as the
previous year. The state consid
ers any millage rate greater than
the rollback rate as an increase
in taxes. Because of increase in
the value of property in Monroe
County, caused by new construc
tion, improvements and greater
demand for land, the same mill-
age rate as 2021 would constitute
a tax increase according to state
guidelines.
The 2021 BOE millage rate in
Monroe County was 15.227; it
collected $23.5 million in taxes
for Monroe County Schools.
The 2023 millage rate of 15.024
anticipates collecting $25.2 mil
lion from local taxpayers, an
increase of $2.9 million. BOE has
decreased its millage rate every
year since 2018, but the net result
has been an increase in revenue
each year because of the growing
value of Monroe County prop
erty, which has risen from $1.35
billion to $1.68 billion since 2018.
That’s an increase of almost $33
million in the county’s tax digest.
In July the BOE approved a
$50.4 million budget for the
2022-23 school year (FY July
2022-July 2023), anticipating
$24.1 million from local ad
valorem taxes and the remain
der from state, federal and other
funds. ESPLOST provides funds
primarily for capital projects and
is a separate budget. Growth in
sales in the county has increased
ESPLOST collections so that the
school system received about
$700,000 for the most recent
month, whereas for most of the
current ESPLOST cycle revenue
averaged about half that amount.
Monroe County Schools
finance director Chris Johnson
said the school system had re
ceived the county property values
from the tax commissioner the
previous week and calculated the
rollback rate. With $24.1 million
budgeted, keeping last year’s rate
of 15.227 should raise $24.9 mil
lion whereas the rollback rate of
15.024 mills anticipates revenue
of $24.5 million for the school
system. Therefore the millage rate
is decreasing, as it has ever year
since 2016, but taxes are actually
increasing.
“I foresee the digest continuing
to increase,” said Johnson.
Board member Nolen Howard
commented that parcels of Mon
roe County land that have been
in conservation status with a re
duced tax basis are being sold and
developed so that they are now
generating more taxes. Board
member Stuart Pippin asked if
BOE could decrease millage a
fraction to benefit taxpayers.
“The $400,000 extra will help us
with the fund balance, which will
reduce the need for a TAN [tax
anticipation note] and reduce the
time we pay interest on a TAN,”
said Johnson.
Johnson said that with interest
rates rising, he expects the inter
est on the TAN to go up from 8-9
percent to 10 percent this year.
The school system usually needs
the TAN at the end of the year to
cover expenses, primarily payroll,
before the property tax payments
for the year come in. Johnson said
the school system also has to plan
for the extra funds it got during
the pandemic to run out in the
fall of 2024.
The net tax percentage increase
is shown as 13.09 percent, com
pare to 5.32 percent in 2021,1.22
percent in 2020, 3.77 percent in
2019 and 2.02 percent in 2018.
Forsyth keeps city's 2022 property taxes at 2.5 mills
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
After a public hearing
with no interest from the
public on Aug. 15, Forsyth
city council set its 2022
millage rate at 2.5 mills.
This is the same millage
rate as 2021 but because
of growth in the value of
Monroe County property
the rate will result in a tax
increase.
Whereas Forsyth col
lected $329,673 in property
taxes in 2021, it anticipates
collecting $370,583 in 2022
with the same millage. For
syth set its millage rate at 3
mills in 2017 and stayed at
3 mills until last year when
it reduced the rate to 2.5
mills.
Council member Julius
Stroud said he would like
to see the city work toward
2.25 or 2 mills. City man
ager Janice Hall said that if
the city set the millage rate
at 2.25 it would still expect
to collect a few thousand
dollars more than it did in
2021 because of increased
property values.
“Remember this is for
special projects and to pay
the note,” said Mayor Eric
Wilson.
“Because the money is
already committed we
should leave it at 2.5,” said
council member Chris
Hewett.
“Because of property val
ues going up, I’m in favor
of two mills,” said council
member Greg Goolsby.
“We’ve been good stew
ards.”
However, the motion to
set the millage rate at 2.5
mills passed, 5-1, with only
Stroud voting against it.
Monroe County bills and
collects property taxes for
the city of Forsyth along
with county taxes, charg
ing the city a percentage
of the taxes billed. Council
has said it wants to use
property taxes primarily for
recreation projects.