Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140
No. 24
20 Pages
2 Sections
rpl WEDi
I h p AUGUS
Commerce News
Wednesday
AUGUST 3 2016
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Audit: Jackson deficit
lower than expected
Higher property taxes and less spending last year helped keep
the Jackson County budget from using as much reserves as had
been predicted.
According to the recently released audit for 2015, the Jackson
County General Fund was in the red by $353,000 on the year, less
than the anticipated $766,000 that had originally been budgeted.
The county had $2 million in General Fund reserves at the
end of 2015.
Overall General Fund revenues were up by $3.7 million in 2015
from the previous year while spending was down $ 1.6 million.
The county took in $36.2 million in 2015 in General Fund
revenues. Most of that, $30.1 million, came from various taxes,
including property and sales taxes.
Also in 2015, the county reduced its debt by $5 million and in
refunding some bonds saved $887,000 in aggregate debt service
payments.
The county’s per capita debt fell in 2015 to $1,679 per person,
the lowest it’s been since 2007. Total primary government debt
was $ 102 million at the end of the year, down from a high of $ 137
million in 2008.
Assessed property values were up in 2015 to $2.1 billion, but
that was still below the $2.4 billion in values in 2009 before the
recession.
The county’s largest taxpayer was Jackson EMC, followed by
the Southern Company TD Automotive Compressor, the Devel
opment Authority of Jefferson and Kubota Industrial Equipment
Corporation.
Hearings on Benton
closure begin next week
Two public hearings will be held over the next two weeks
on the proposed closing of Benton Elementary School.
The Jackson County Board of Education will host hearings
on Aug. 8 and Aug. 15 for the closing of Benton as a Pre-K
through fifth grade facility at the end of the 2016-17 school
year.
The Monday, Aug. 8, hearing will be at East Jackson Middle
School at the conclusion of the BOE meeting to be held at
6:30 p.m.
The Monday, Aug. 15, hearing will be held at the East Jack-
son Comprehensive High School auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
Those wishing to talk at either hearing should contact the
BOE office at 706-367-5151. Requests to address the BOE must
be received three days prior to the meeting.
The Benton facility will be repurposed to serve Foothills
Charter High School and as a “flexible learning space” for
Jackson County School System students.
Students presently attending Benton will be rezoned to East
Jackson Elementary School and South Jackson Elementary
School.
See “Benton” on Page 3A
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INDEX
Church News 4B
Classified Ads 6-7B
Crime News 6-7A
Obituaries 11A
Opinion 4A
School 9-10A
Sports 1-2B
Social News... 8-10A
MAILING LABEL BELOW
8 "04879 14141" 9
Jackson
jobless rate
up — but is
lowest in Ga.
After falling twotenths of
a percent from April to May
Jackson County’s jobless
rate jumped by six-tenths of
a percent from May to June,
according to figures released
last week by the Georgia
Department of Labor.
The DOL put Jackson
County’s jobless rate at 4.5
percent for June — tied for
lowest in Georgia with Cher
okee, Forsyth and Oconee
counties — which was up
from 3.9 percent just 30 days
prior. Jackson’s jobless rate
for April was 4.1 percent.
Georgia’s jobless rate also
fluctuated significantly over
the same three-month peri
od, going from 5.0 percent in
April to 4.7 in May and jump
ing to 5.6 percent in June.
School was the major fac
tor.
“The rate rose as the labor
force increased by 4,010 to
289,265, as students and oth
ers entered the job market
looking for work,” explained
a news release from DOL.
“The labor force consists of
people employed and those
who are unemployed but
actively looking for jobs. The
number of employed work
ers rose by 1,056, while the
number of unemployed peo
ple increased by 2,954.”
Unemployment numbers
are estimates based on con-
See “Jobs” on 3A
Back to school on Friday
1,555 students expected in Commerce
when school starts Friday morning
When the 2016-17 school
year starts Friday, approx
imately 1,555 students are
expected to enter the hall
ways of the Commerce
City School System’s four
schools. That would repre
sent an increase of about
55 students over the first
day last year.
“That is a good sign for
us. It’s manageable,” said
superintendent Joy Tolbert.
Enrollment figures as of
last Friday put the system
on the cusp of having to
add classes in grades 1-4,
but Tolbert said she will
wait until after Labor Day
to make those decisions —
when enrollment numbers
have settled.
“It’s a good sign, but
then you have children in
a classroom with a new
teacher for four weeks
and they’re settled in and
comfortable, then you have
to displace them and put
them with a new teacher,”
Tolbert pointed out. “Also,
New Commerce principals
Cara Lindsey is
the new principal at
Commerce Elementary
School.
there is a funding lapse. We
will not earn that teacher
this year.”
The major change for
the city school system,
however, is that for the first
time since 2009, students
will go to school a full 180
days (and staff will work
190), the system having
recovered financially from
Derrick Maxwell is
the new principal at
Commerce Middle
School.
the Great Recession.
New This Year
Parents and students
may notice the following
changes as the new school
year kicks off:
• new principals at Com
merce Elementary School
(Cara Lindsey) and Com-
See “New” on 3A
Enrollment to
surpass 7,500
in Jackson Co.
School starts on Friday
for students in the Jackson
County School System.
Over 7,500 students are
expected to walk the hall
ways of the district’s 11
schools this year. Projected
enrollment totals at 7,511 as
of July 28.
The district also has 65
new teachers and a new
human resources director,
Selena Blankenship. Amity
Hardegree will be the interim
Benton Elementary School
principal after Pam Shields
resigned this summer.
Teresa Strickland is the
new principal at North Jack-
son Elementary School and
Jessica Rehberg is the new
assistant principal at Jackson
County Comprehensive High
School.
Enrollment Projections
Current enrollment pro
jections show West Jackson
Middle School has surpassed
See “Jackson” on 3A
Prayer vigil for public safety personnel
Approximately 90 people turned out last
Thursday night at the Nicholson City Park for a
prayer vigil in support of public safety personnel
hosted by Hudson Lodge 294 F&AM. Above,
the crowd stands as the color guard of the Hall
County Sheriff’s Department presents the col
ors. Cameron Boswell emceed the event.
City tax levy to fall, but
state calls it a 'tax increase'
How can it be a tax increase if Commerce residents pay
less in property taxes in 2016 than they did in 2015?
You’d have to ask the General Assembly to get an answer
to that. But with its tax digest slipping slightly and the city
poised to keep the same 4.02-mill tax rate as last year, Geor
gia law requires the city to advertise that it’s raising taxes.
That’s in spite of the dollar amount of the tax levy falling by
$34,000, and the overall tax digest dropping by $600,000.
Interim city manager James Wascher tried to explain that
conundrum to the city council at the council’s “work ses
sion” meeting Monday night. It was not clear how successful
he was.
Wascher explained how various parts of the tax digest
fared — some up, some down, but no real movement. The
upshot was that overall, the digest was down by $600,000.
“That’s not insurmountable. It’s manageable,” Wascher
said. “The rub comes in with how the state mandates how
we calculate whether we have a tax increase.”
State law requires that the city hold three public hearings
if it intends to raise taxes. Wascher told the council he will
schedule the hearings.
“It makes us look bad because we have to say we have a
tax increase when we don’t have a tax increase,” he said.
“The problem is the way the law is written. If you have any
appreciation in your digest, you have to roll it (the millage
rate) back. They don’t consider the digest as a whole.”
ISO Rate Down
Wascher did nave some good news. Thanks to additional
equipment and the opening of Fire Station #2, the city’s ISO
rating—the basis used by most insurance companies for set
ting fire insurance rates — is dropping from a 4 to a 3, which
should save consumers money on fire insurance rates.
“This is great news. Everyone who worked on it did a great
job,” Wascher commented.
Praise For Police Officer
Showing a slide from a WSB web page, Wascher praised
officer Chris Holly, who lay on the ground for about an hour
cradling an 8-year-old boy injured in a wreck on Interstate
85 Saturday.
“It was his (the boy’s) birthday, and he was singing ‘Happy
Birthday’ to him, trying to keep him calm and keep him
still until the appropriate help arrived,” Wascher reported,
reminding the council that city police and fire personnel are
“truly there to help the public.”