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THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. TANUARY 14, 2009 - PAGE 9 A
Big December Check Boosts
Schools' Revenue Outlook
Council Reappoints Three To
Downtown Development Authority
By Ben Munro
The Commerce City
School System’s Christmas
present appears to have
come in the form of a $1
million check for December
property tax collections.
“Now we’re pretty much
right on target,’’ said
City Schools Director of
Finance Ann Stokey who
reported the good news at
Monday night’s Commerce
Board of Education (BOE)
meeting.
The influx of cash last
month has the system col
lecting 51 percent of its
expected revenue for the
school year at the mid-point
of 2008-2009.
That’s up from 35 percent
in revenue collections at the
end of November.
The schools have spent
48 percent of their budget
through December.
Though the month is only
half over, the outlook for
January is strong, too.
Three days after school
resumed from holiday break,
the central office received a
check for another $700,000
in taxes, Stokey said.
“We haven’t gotten them
all, but it’s encouraging that
we look like we are going
to meet our goal,’’ Stokey
said.
As for the schools’ sys
tem’s SPLOST revenue,
Commerce is still collecting
over $100,000 a month, tak
ing in $107,711, according to
the December receipts.
But that’s $22,000 less
than it took in at this time
last year.
“We’ve stayed about that
$100,000 a month, but not
by much,’’ City Schools
Superintendent Dr. Mac
McCoy said.
The school’s system’s
SPLOST balance is almost
$2 million.
In other financial news,
the audit of the school sys
tem nears completion and
school leaders hope to have
exit interviews in the next
couple of weeks.
City School Board Re-Elects
Dr. Paul Sergent As Chairman
By Ben Munro
There were no surpris
es Monday night as the
Commerce school board
divvied up duties for 2009.
Dr. Paul Sergent was again
elected as board of educa
tion (BOE) chairman, with
Mary Seabolt selected as
vice-chair for another term.
Harbin and Hartley
remains as the school sys
tem’s legal counsel.
Meeting dates are
unchanged, with the BOE
convening on the second
Monday of each month.
Work sessions will fall
the Thursday prior to that
Monday.
All meetings are at 7 p.m.
The BOE will hold just
one meeting in April, July
and December.
Trees Need
To Come Down
Trees growing near
the Commerce Primary
School building will have
to be removed, accord
ing to Commerce Schools
Superintendent Dr. Mac
McCoy.
These large trees have
damaged the sidewalks and
could pose structural prob
lems to the school.
Teachers Cast Ballots
For School Calendar
The Commerce School
System teachers and fac
ulty have voted in a school
calendar that allows for a
week-long October break
and a traditional three-day
Thanksgiving holiday.
The calendar garnered
59 percent of the vote over
a similar calendar that
offered for a week-long
Thanksgiving holiday but a
shorter October break.
The Commerce school
board made the calendar
official with its vote of
approval.
Other Business
In other business con
ducted Monday night, the
school board:
•approved a fund-raising
request for the Commerce
High School baseball pro
gram.
•approved the retirement
of Commerce High School
teacher Kay Haugen, CHS
media specialist Claudia
Leach and CHS mainte
nance worker Jerry Phillips.
BOE Sets
Feb. 7 Retreat
The Commerce Board
of Education will hold its
annual retreat Saturday,
Feb. 7, from 8 a.m. to 3
p.m. at the conference
room of the Charles
Black Construction
office in Gainesville.
The address is 604
Washington Street/
Suite A-2/ Gainesville.
The seven-hour meet
ing will include discus
sion of school technol
ogy and the budget as
well as presentations
from each of the school
system’s principals.
A lunch break is
planned.
The meeting is open
to the public.
NEED PRINTING?
CALL
706-367-
Mended Hearts
Meets Monday
Mended Hearts will meet
at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, at
BJC Medical Center in the
conference room.
All members and inter
ested persons are invited.
Mended Hearts is a support
group for heart patients and
their families.
For more information,
call George Evans, 706-335-
6568; or Betty Ann Mathis,
706-335-5875.
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By Mark Beardsley
The Commerce City
Council reappointed three
members to its Downtown
Development Authority
Monday night. A fourth
position will be filled in the
near future.
On a motion by Archie
D. Chaney Jr„ the council
reappointed Tricia Massey
Chris Bray and Clark Hill
to four-year terms that will
end Dec. 31, 2012.
Councilman Bob
Sosebee, who chairs the
DDA, thanked the council
for its action.
“These are three of the
best board members we
ever had,’’ he said, add
ing that the current DDA
board “is the most active
board we’ve ever had.’’
“These are three great
appointments,’’ Mayor
Charles L. Hardy Jr.
agreed.
Member Terry Minish’s
term has also expired,
Sosebee noted, and Minish
has asked that he not be
reappointed. Sosebee
said several people have
expressed interest in the
position and he encour
aged any council members
who knew of someone
interested in the DDA to
have them contact Hasco
Craver, executive director,
to be considered.
Easier To Prosecute
Utility Theft, Tampering
It is now specifically ille
gal to tamper with or steal
utilities in Commerce.
The city council passed
“an ordinance to prohibit
tampering with any util
ity apparatus, to prohibit
interference with a utility
meter or to interfere with
the delivery of utility ser
vices to the city to pro
hibit receiving the benefits
of utility services without
proper charge, to provide
for penalties and other pur
poses’’ — which is to say
it will now be better able
to prosecute for theft of
services.
City Manager Clarence
Bryant said that while deal
ing with a tampering or
theft case, the city found it
did not have a specific ordi
nance. The new ordinance
will also protect any other
utility service operating in
the city, he added.
“Let’s put some teeth in
this if people are tamper
ing with or stealing utili
ties,’’ urged Councilman
Donald Wilson.
Water To Maysville
By a unanimous vote, the
council agreed to extend a
water sales contract with
Maysville for an additional
five years.
The price is $3 per 1,000
gallons for the first 100,000
gallons per month, after
which the price falls as
volume increases. The
contract provides for a
minimum monthly bill of
$3,000. All prices are guar
anteed only through Dec.
31, 2010, but the volume of
water is guaranteed through
an additional five years.
Now In Commerce
The council accepted
the recommendation of
its planning commission
and re-zoned and annexed
two acres on U.S. 441 as
requested by Alan and
Sandy Kelley. The zoning
goes from highway retail
commercial in Jackson
County to C-2 in the city.
The property contains
Krazy Al’s music store.
Demolition OK’d
The council approved a
$3,800 bid from Athens
Auto Wrecking for the
demolition of a condemned
house at 172 Scott Street.
The work cannot com
mence until Feb. 1 so the
owner can remove some
personal items.
Roof Work Approved
By passing a $38,000
budget amendment, the
council gave the go-ahead
for Bone Dry Roofing to
replace a section of leak
ing roof on the Commerce
Public Library.
Hudgens, Hawkins Win Committee Chairmanships
Two local state senators
have been named chair
men of committees in the
Senate.
State Sen. Ralph
Hudgens was named chair
man of the insurance and
labor committee, while
state Sen. Lee Hawkins
will head the state and
local government opera
tions committee.
Hawkins (R-49) repre
sents Hall County and
part of Jackson County.
Hudgens (R-47) repre
sents Barrow, Madison
and Oglethorpe coun
ties, and parts of Clarke,
Elbert and Jackson coun
ties.
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