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PAGE 10A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS. WEDNESDAY. TULY 9. 2008
••'***• Jody Thompson Addresses The Issues
MainStreet Newspapers sent
questionnaires to each of the can
didates in the race for the District 2
seat on the Jackson County Board
of Commissioners.
Following are the responses by
Jody Thompson, incumbent.
Please summarize your back
ground.
I was born and raised in Jackson
County inbetween Commerce and
Maysville. My parents are Nelson
and Barbara Thompson who are
also from Jackson County. My wife,
Brandy, and I have spent 11 years
and we have two children, Natalie,
7, and John Aubrey 3. I graduated
from Jackson County High School
and am currently attending Lanier
Tech pursuing additional educa
tion and a degree in management.
My hobbies include playing guitar
and bass guitar and martial arts. I
have studied several styles of Ju
jitsu and Aikido from many of the
best teachers in the world. I have
been in management for 15 years,
working as a manager, district
manager, sales management trainer
and business owner. I have earned
many awards for excellence and
have taught sales training to hun
dreds of other management profes
sionals. Over the last four years, I
have served the people of Jackson
County as the District 2 commis
sioner. I earned my commissioner
certification within the first year
of office and have certifications in
leadership from the Association of
County Commissioners. I am also
a graduate of Leadership Jackson.
How has your background
prepared you for the post you
are seeking?
My background in management
has given me experience with work
ing with people and handling large
budgets. I have developed great re
lationships with both the citizens
and the county staff. This has been
beneficial in getting the people in
volved and relating their concerns
to staff in a very proactive manner.
My extensive experience working
with people of all walks of life cer
tainly has improved relationships
within our county. The citizens
gained valuable experi
ence from dealing with
the stressed finances in
the county government
and making the necessary
changes needed to im
prove that situation. Now
the finances are much bet
ter than before and the
people have a government
they can be proud of.
Also in my background as j oc j y Thompson
a commissioner, I have ex
perienced and successfully
managed the highest volume of
land use requests the county had
ever seen. From that I learned our
code better than most and have
utilized that knowledge in making
the changes needed in that code to
best benefit the people. I have also
been able to find creative funding
to get much-needed projects com
pleted and not impact the budget.
Both the completion of the Com
merce Health Department and our
library system are great examples.
Sales tax was used to aid in the
funding needed for these projects.
County inmate labor was used for
countywide library improvements
and for the Commerce Health De
partment construction. This saved
thousands of dollars for the taxpay
ers. My position has allowed me to
gain experience in negotiating with
the State DOT to get more roads
paved and funding to offset the
costs related to these roads. That
same experience is now getting the
dangerous intersection at Hwy. 98
and B. Wilson Road improved us
ing federal funds, not local.
Why are you the most quali
fied person for this position?
My qualifications rest in the
enormous progress I, along with
the entire board, have made in
Jackson County. I have proven to
the people that I can complete
projects timely and under budget.
I have no political strings control
ling me and there is absolutely no
conflict that would hinder my deci
sions. I ask the hard questions and
give the hard answers. I have rec
ognized the wasteful spending and
was willing to go against the grain
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have helped with getting right-of- and ask the difficult questions oth
ways for road projects and that is
directly related to having a com
missioner that is responsive and
they trust.
Over the last four years, I have
— District 2 Candidate Chas Hardy
Cont. from Page 9A
who will give the position they hold
and the people they serve the respect
they deserve. Earning the respect
of your peers is vital to building
relationships needed to govern effec
tively. One of the most important
aspects of a good leader is being able
to humble himself and build those
relationships. We need someone who
is willing to go the extra mile to estab
lish good solid relationships with all
the stakeholders involved. We need
someone who is respected by the
leaders and citizens of our area and
has the maturity necessary to hold
this responsible position. We need a
commissioner with discretion when
discussing county business with oth
ers. We need someone we can be
proud of, who won't bring embar
rassment to our county in the media.
I know that I can be this person.
What course would you like to
see the county take as it grows
over the next decade?
I would like to see the county grow
the way the people of the county
want it to grow. We need to con
tinue to strengthen our building and
zoning codes to encourage quality
development. We need to concen
trate on creating jobs and adding
to our industrial tax base along the
parallel road system being devel
oped by the Industrial Development
Authority and the county. We need
to concentrate on bringing more
commercial retail to our county to
serve our growing population. With
that we can keep our sales tax dol
lars at home to finance projects to
improve our quality of life, such as
parks and greenspaces. We have
some great things going on in this
county right now and we have a lot
of very dedicated people who serve
on the many authorities and boards
that make up the county. These
people do it because they care. I'm
running because I care. We already
have some good leadership in this
county, but we need some more.
My vision for Jackson County is for
us to be the envy of every county
in the State of Georgia. The great
est compliment would be to have
everyone else trying to be just like
Jackson County.
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our government trans
parent and professional.
I am the most qualified
candidate because I have
a proven record and I am
running for the people,
not for myself.
What do you consid
er to be the key issues
facing the campaign?
If elected, what would
be your plans on how
to address these is
sues?
The issue that will pose the most
difficult challenge is the fund the
staffing of the new jail. Currently
those positions will cost about $4
million in staffing fees. If there
were no other cuts, this alone
would increase taxes far beyond
any increase in the last decade.
This is a challenge only an expe
rienced, trained leader can steer.
This will not be a single year im
pact. These positions are vital and
will impact the budget from here
on out. There is not an easy answer
to this challenge.
Another key issue we are fac
ing is the updating of our Unified
Development Code and our Com
prehensive Plan. As anyone has
seen from our meetings, I have a
very detailed understanding of the
code. Very few leaders have taken
as much time as I have to under
stand and comprehend the im
portance of the code. This is what
shapes the future of the county and
cannot be taken lightly.
The last issue that is vital to the
county is the completion of the
animal shelter. If the county had
understood the value of this when
it was first proposed, the shelter
would have almost paid for itself
by this point. With such a shelter
in place, the costs related to the re
cent “puppy mill'' case would have
been substantially lower. The suc
cess of this shelter will rely on the
strong relationship I have devel
oped with rescue groups such as
the Humane Society.
What is the greatest chal
lenge facing the person elected
to this position and how would
you address it?
The greatest challenge for this
position is to be able to serve the
entire county and not one single
group. I will continue the way I
have always handled it. I came into
this race independent and I will
remain that way. When a city or a
group has approached me with any
concern, I bring it before the entire
board and lobby how I would for
anyone. I only consider requests
that are heard publicly. Any prom
ises made by former commission
ers in closed-door meetings are
brought into the light and if the
public does not agree with it, it
doesn’t happen. So far the county
government has developed won
derful relationships with our city
and school governments.
What course would you like
to see the county take as it
grows over the next decade?
Over the next 10 years, I would
like to see the county become a
tourist spot and further develop
its commercial potential. We have
such a beautiful county with so
much heritage and history. I would
love to see the small towns be re
vitalized with dollars from tourism
and travelers. Just in the last four
years, we have made vast improve
ments to our parks and roads. Both
of these areas are vital to main
taining our economic growth. Eco
nomic growth is not only industrial
based, it is also commercial. The
sales tax increase will open more
revenue options to give relief for
our taxpayers. This is a great thing
for everyone in the county.
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706-367-5233
*■*■*■ *■ *■#•*■* .P- * »■ P
Beatty Argues Case
For Election As Chair
MainStreet News
papers interviewed
each of the candidates
for chairman of the
Jackson County Board
of Commissioners.
These are the respons
es of Tony Beatty.
Would you be in
favor of lowering the
millage rate to give
people some relief?
The commissioners
can do a reassessment
any time they want to
Forsyth
County does reassessments every
year. For a long time, in Jackson
County, it has been decided that
we do them every five years when
we didn't have as many homes
being built. It may get to the point
we need to do them more often
but that is detrimental to people’s
taxes because you get hit a little
bit every year instead of, all of a
sudden, a 30 percent increase. I’ve
been preaching the whole time that
since we’ve taken the upswing, we
also need to take the downswing.
We're working off two years ago
when they started the assessment
process. Probably, values have gone
down 20 to 25 percent, maybe even
more in some areas of the county.
There are many ways to lower the
millage rate. I do have a plan that
will automatically cut a half a mil
lion dollars. It is by not duplicating
services within the county. That
is the first thing I would look at
before I automatically started cut
ting. I would look and see where
we are duplicating services. We
need to make employees multi
functional.
Where specifically do you
think the county bud
get could be cut?
It may be to the point
where refinancing some of
the bonds would be off
set by the lower interest
rates. We might could refi
nance some of the bonds
... Salaries and employees
make up approximately 65
to 70 percent of the total.
Tony Beatty One year, we had a 33 per
cent increase in medical
costs and benefits. That is
the majority of the animal you are
trying to attack, and that is the last
thing you need to attack. A lot of
people rely on that.
Should the county require
employees to pay a greater cost
of their insurance?
Two years ago, we started hand
ing off some of that cost to the
employee. They need to do more,
like every other business. We did
start that two years ago.
Should the county go in and
cut some standing positions?
I think the county manager, along
with the commissioners, needs to
take a look at every department
to see if they need to reduce their
head count ... The road money
and stuff like that is stuff that is
nice to have but that can be put
on the back burner until things
turn around. Something has to
be put on the back burner. The
county services need to be looked
at as a whole. Some of them will
have to be reduced. The last four
years were wonderful. Things were
booming. The next four years will
be a really, really tough time.
Please Turn to Page 11A
ers would not. This is not a posi
tion for someone who is happy
with the way it used to be, Jackson
County has changed for the better.
I have made great strides to keep
JIM KEINARD
for Sheriff of
Jackson County
Lhci-i
VIES
The Professional Choice
My goal is to bring professional law enforcement management practices to the Sheriffs Department. This
department has been led by our current sheriff for twenty-four years. During this time, a number of issues have
evolved which have hampered the effectiveness of the Sheriff’s Department in providing the needed services to its
citizens. I will address those issues as your new Sheriff:
• I will serve as your full-time sheriff and not as a part-time sheriff
• I will have an open-door policy for both citizens and employees of the Department. If you have a problem,
I will listen.
• I will devote my full time in carrying out the duties of the Office of Sheriff.
• The “good ole boy politics” of the past administration will no longer be tolerated in the management and
operation of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department
• I will address and correct current departmental policy issues:
• No longer will there be selective enforcement of the laws of Georgia within the department. All laws will
be enforced fairly and uniformly by all deputies within the department.
• No longer will special services be provided to selected individuals. If special services are provided, they
will be available to all the citizens of the county.
• I will review current departmental policies and standards to ensure they mirror recommended state
standards for professional law enforcement agencies.
• I will address and correct current personnel issues that include but are not limited to: morale, turnover,
training, equipment needs, and adequate staffing of the courthouse and the jail.
• Within the first ninety days, I will seek to provide civil service protection to career employees within the
department so that no longer will they fear for the loss of their jobs or have to be intimidated for failing
to comply with the political will of elected officials.
• Further, I will review the findings of a previous pay and benefit study to determine if our personnel have
comparable pay and benefits as surrounding law enforcement agencies.
• I will actively address our growing drug and gang problem. I will form a countywide drug task force made up
of deputies and city police officers to aggressively investigate and arrest those who are involved in the drug
and gang activities within Jackson County.
• I will work with the local Boards of Education to provide School Resource Officers in the middle and high
schools that do not have them. Safety is paramount when protecting our children while they are at school.
• I will improve the image and professionalism of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department by applying for and
meeting the requirements for Georgia Law Enforcement Agency Certification Program.
• I will increase departmental accountability to the citizens we serve.
• I will increase the number of patrol units within the county to reduce response times to a call.
• I will seek citizen input to help improve operations of the Sheriff’s Department
• I will improve inter-agency cooperation with other local, county, state and federal agencies to provide for
mutual aid pacts, sharing of intelligence information, and participating in regional investigative task forces.
Please Vote July 15th.
Your Vote Does Count!
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