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Vol. 134 No. 12 18 Pages 3 Sections The www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com Wednesday me m (Jommerce News 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 MAY 6,2009 Foul Water Finally Out Of System? By Mark Beardsley Commerce and Mays- ville water customers can start drinking their tap water again. The safe but smelly dirt-tasting tap water they’ve experienced for more than a week is all but gone. The Commerce water shed lake experienced its annual spring “tempera ture inversion," creating odor and taste issues. The water remained safe to drink, but its taste could deter most folks from tak ing more than a sip. The inversion causes sediment to mix with the water, causing its taste and odor to deteriorate. 'The plant is okay," said Bryan Harbin, director of the city’s water and sewer operations Friday morn ing. “We’re in the process of flushing hydrants now and should finish that either today or tomor row." Harbin on Friday pre dicted that all of the issues would be resolved over the weekend, but on Monday, the problem remained in some areas where dead end lines could not be flushed. The bad taste and odor typically lasts three to five days each spring, accord ing to Harbin. “It has been unusually bad this year," he noted. “It was due to the big temperature swings last week." Harbin said water offi cials noticed the problem Friday, April 24, at the plant. A week later, the plant was cleared, and it became a matter of flush ing the old water out of city water lines. Crews flushed lines Saturday and Sunday and continued Monday. Harbin estimat ed that the city flushed 3 million gallons or more. Harbin notified the EPD of the problem, just in case it heard complaints. Sure enough, the EPD got a complaint from Maysville, which buys city water. The EPD visited the plant Wednesday, April 29. 'They said we were doing everything we could do," Harbin said. “It (the taste and odor) was still linger ing, but it was okay at the plant." The same situation sometimes occurs in the fall as the lake water cools down, but the problem is seldom as severe as dur ing the spring temperature inversion. CONTACT US Phone: 706-335-2927 FAX: 706-387-5435 E-mail: news@mai nstreetnews. com mark@mainstreetnews.com Mail: 1672 S. Broad St., Commerce, GA 30529 INDEX Church News 3B Classified Ads 6-8 B Calendar 3A Crime News 7A News Roundup 2A Obituaries 4-5B Opinions 4A School News 9-10A Sports 1-2B Social News 8A BJC Seeks Bailout Funds From Counties Authority Seeks Payment Of $3.7 Million To Cover Loans And Accounts Payable Costs At The Daisy Pestival Madison Wages, 11, of Winterville, points out something of interest to her grandmother, Robin Sartain, of Jefferson, under the pavilion at the Daisy Festival. See more photos on Page 9A. Photo by Mark Beardsley Sales Tax Slump Finance Directors Fault DOR For Falling Revenue Economy Is Bad, But Not That Bad? By Mark Beardsley Has Jackson County’s economy taken a 23.4 percent hit for the first two months of 2009? That’s what local option sales tax revenues from the Georgia Department of Revenue suggest, but the finance directors for Commerce and Jackson County think there’s anoth er reason sales tax funds are down — the inability or unwillingness of the Department of Revenue to accurately and promptly process sales tax returns. Sales taxes are second only to property taxes as a revenue source for Jackson County. Given that there are three local sales taxes — the local option sales tax (LOST), and special purpose local option sales taxes (SPLOST) for educa tion and for general govern ment (roads and bridges, recreation and water and sewerage work), sales taxes have a huge impact on local government. Please Turn to Page 5A By Angela Gary The struggling BJC Medical Center needs cash from Banks and Jackson counties to stay afloat. Rick Massey, a member of BJC Medical Center Authority, appeared before the J ackson County Board of Commissioners Monday night to ask the county to guarantee — and repay — 75 percent of a $5.2 million loan, as well as guarantee 75 per cent of a $1 million line of credit. The authority will make a similar request — for the other 25 percent of support — from the Banks County Board of Commissioners. Financial obligations related to the medical center have always been split on a 75:25 percent ratio between Jackson and Banks counties. “We have a significant need at the current time for Jackson County and Banks County to guaran tee a $5.2 million long term debt, as well as a $1 million line of credit," Massey told the Jackson County commissioners. "... We have to restructure this short-term debt. We feel like this is the best- case scenario ... We need to restructure that loan and we can’t do that ... It is more advantageous to lump this into one long term repayment." The request is to con solidate approximately $1.5 million in debt the two counties now paying on hospital bonds with $2.5 million in short-term debt and $1.2 million of accounts payable. The request amounts to an additional $3.7 million in support from the two counties. Currently, Jackson County makes $153,655 annual payment for hospital bonds. If the board grants the author ity’s request, its payment would go to $382,395. The duration of the agreement is for 15 years. If the Banks County Board of Commissioners signs on, its annual pay ment on the medical center would increase from the current level of $51,218 to $127,465. BJC CEO Jim Yarborough said the facil ity would repay any part of the line of credit it uses from operating revenue. A letter from BJC Authority chairman Charles Blair explained that the facility needs to convert $2.5 million in short-term loans and $1.2 million in unpaid bills to long-term debt to survive. BJC Medical Center ran up significant deficits — the numbers are still not finalized — in 2007 and 2008 as the economy fal tered, its general surgeon resigned and state and federal reimbursements lagged. The hospital laid off more than 50 employ ees, cut some services and instituted reforms in collections for emergen cy room visits to try to improve cash flow. Local banks are willing Please Turn to Page 3A Proposed City Budget Takes $9.5 Million Dip By Mark Beardsley Don’t expect to see any big city initiatives this year. The first draft of the proposed 2009-10 Commerce budget is down almost $10 million from the current budget and has very little capital spending. The budget, which must undergo scrutiny — and possible changes — by the city council, will be approved in June for a fiscal year that starts July 1. The city council got its first peek at the $25.6 million spending plan at Monday night’s work session. 'To give you an idea of what’s in it — nothing," said city manager Clarence Bryant. Approximately $7 million of the cut represents natural gas not purchased. “We don’t buy LP’s gas and we don’t buy 40-50 percent of Huber’s gas anymore," said Bryant, referring to the closure of one wood products plant and cutbacks at the other. In addition, the cost of natural gas has gone down. That serves to reduce the city budget on both the expense side and the revenue side, but the real winners are natural gas customers who can expect lower bills next winter. Please Turn to Page 3A Umm, That Looks Good Maggie Hill, left, heads for a slice of pizza during a picnic supper Friday night in Spencer Park as Channing Martin, right, takes her first bite. They were among the people listening to Lullwater, an Athens band, at the Downtown Development Authority’s Fridays After Five event. This Friday, the Commerce High School Band will present a free concert in the park at 6:30 p.m. Rainfall this month 1.59 inches Rainfall This Year 20.47 Inches 4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 1 " 9 THURSDAY, MAY 7 Scattered T-storms: Low, 63; high, 83; 40% chance rain FRIDAY, MAY 8 Isolated T-storms: Low, 63; high, 83; 30% chance rain SATURDAY, MAY 9 Isolated T-storms: Low, 60; high, 84; 30% chance rain SUNDAY, MAY 10 y Partly cloudy: Low, 56; high, 82; 10% chance rain