Vol. 140
No. 33
28 Pages
2 Sections
rpl WED
1/16 0CT0B
Commerce News
Wednesday
OCTOBER 5,2016
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Jackson Co.
LOST income
finally catches
up to budget
After running under bud
get slightly for the first seven
months of the fiscal year,
Jackson County’s collections
from the local option sales
tax (LOST) are now slightly
over budget for the fiscal year.
According to an email sent
by county finance director
Trey Wood last week, the
county received a distribution
of $529,472 from the Geor
gia Department of Revenue,
representing primarily sales
made during August — the
eighth month of the fiscal
year.
“Our budgeted FY 2016
goal for local option sales tax
receipts is $5,600,000,” Wood
wrote. “The eighth month of
LOST revenue for FY 2016
is up $99,154 over the same
period last year. Overall,
collections are over budget
by one percent, or $46,400,
through the period.”
Jackson County also
received its September distri
bution — also for August sales
— from the proceeds of the
special purpose local option
sales tax (SPLOST), in the
amount of $882,411.
“We are now 86 percent or
62 months into the six -year
SPLOST 5 collection,” Wood
wrote. “SPLOST 5 collections
will end on June 30, 2017.
Overall, SPLOST 5 revenues
are trending approximately 17
percent above budget.”
The difference in the
reported amounts of the two
one-percent local sales tax
(LOST and SPLOST) checks
is because for LOST, Jackson
County and each of its nine
municipalities get individual
checks from DOR, whereas
See “LOST” on 3A
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INDEX
Church News 4B
Classified Ads 5-6B
Crime News 6-8A
Obituaries 15A
Opinion 4A
School 9-11A
Sports.... 1 -3 & 10BB
Social News. 12-14A
MAILING LABEL BELOW
Heading toward the exit
Kye Dumas of Maysville makes his way to the exit of an inflatable obsta
cle course Saturday morning during the 49th annual Maysville Autumn Leaf
Festival. Kids had a variety of activities, including a number of inflatables.
For more photos, see Page 3A
Commerce police may
get take-home vehicles
The Commerce City Council expects to
approve the purchase of seven new vehicles
for the police department next Monday
night.
At its “work session” meeting this past
Monday, the council appeared supportive of
a proposal by city manager James Wascher
to acquire enough vehicles to provide
“take-home” vehicles for each officer while
extending the life expectancy of vehicles
that are currently on the road almost 24
hours a day.
The council views the action as a way to
save money on both vehicles and officer
turnover while boosting recruitment.
“We have a hard time recruiting and a
hard time retaining officers,” Wascher told
the council. “The first question they (appli
cants) ask is what is the pay and do you
have a take-home policy?”
Commerce and the University of Georgia
operate the only police departments in the
area without a vehicle take-home policy.
The proposal is to buy six new Dodge
Chargers for patrol cars and a Ford Explorer
for use by the K9 officer.
Wascher said the cost, to be spread over
four years, will be $280,000. He proposes
making payments by combining approxi
mately $77,000 of General Fund revenue that
had been proposed to buy two cars, moving
$18,900 currently in the budget to pay fuel
stipends to officers (that would be eliminat
ed with take-home vehicles) and $20,000
per year from seized assets. The resulting
hit to the General Fund would amount to
almost $29,000 a year, which is close to
what the city already spends per year on
police vehicles.
“We discussed this years ago,” Mayor
Clark Hill recalled. “It costs us every time
we turn a position over and have to recruit
See “Council” on Page 3A
Checking out a classic car
Bobby Minish and Larry Elgin check out a 1923 Ford T-Bucket on display
near Spencer Park Saturday evening during Cruisin’ Commerce. It was one
of about 100 classic vehicles on display in the downtown. For more photos,
see page 2A.
Scary 'clown'
chases kids
in Commerce
Police warn of charges
for scaring children
The scary clowns have arrived in Commerce.
On Sunday, an incident was reported to the Commerce
Police Department in which two 8year-old girls said they
were chased by a clown with blood dripping from his
mouth while on Arlington Lane.
The girls said that they were able to out-run the clown.
Officers searched the area and found nobody matching
the description given by the girls.
Officers with the Commerce Police Department have
increased patrols in the area. A post on the police depart
ment’s Facebook page noted that: “If anyone is found to
be endeavoring to frighten children by dressing as a scary
clown, it will not be viewed as a joke or a prank. Scaring
children in this way will be viewed as a crime not a prank,
and appropriate charges will be taken.”
There have been a number of “clown” sightings report
ed around the county and around the country, possibly in
connection with the pending release of an updated version
of Stephen King’s “It,” which featured a diabolical and
murderous clown.
For information on where clowns have been sighted in
Jackson County see Page 7A.
City council
taking steps to
create land bank
Move aimed at rehabbing
neglected buildings, property
The Commerce City Council appears poised to take the first
step in creating a “land bank” with Jackson County.
City manager James Wascher briefed the council on the
matter at Monday night’s work session. It should also be on
the agenda when the council holds its regular meeting at 6 p.m.
on Monday, Oct. 17, in the Commerce Room of the Commerce
Civic Center.
The council will act on a proposed intergovernmental
agreement with Jackson County that would officially get the
ball rolling on the Commerce-Jackson Land Bank.
The idea is that a land bank will help clean up and put into
use dilapidated or abandoned buildings, helping the owners
get rid of eyesores they can’t afford to repair or providing a
clear title so the property can be sold.
A property owner would “deposit” the property in the land
bank, Wascher explained, where a developer or contractor
can enter into an agreement to restore the property. When it
is sold, the owner would be “made whole” and the developer
or contractor would recoup his investment and, presumably
a profit.
“This will be the first step in a process of developing a land
bank,” Wascher told the city council. “We will have to have
cooperation from the county. We will have to have a board set
up at a later time and we will have to do a lot of work to see how
exactly we want to set this up.”
Prior discussions with county manager Kevin Poe have been
encouraging.
“When we talked about it last year, Kevin Poe was excited
about doing it,” offered Mayor Clark Hill.
“I don’t expect there to be any problem with the county”
Wascher responded. “I don’t know how involved they will
want to be.”
“We want to have a tool to help fix up the property” Wascher
commented to a reporter, “to make the town look better. If
we can have a tool to facilitate people doing things with the
property they wouldn’t be able to do on their own, we’d like
to do that.”
He said he hopes that the city would be able to partner with
contractors or developers willing to take on such projects.
Other Business
In other matters at Monday’s work session, the council:
• reviewed items that will be on the agenda Monday Oct.
17, including the rezoning and annexation of the Whitehill
Meadows subdivision, the creation of a new “incumbency cer
tificate” with the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia that is
basically a signature card; the closing of streets for the Bicycle,
Brews and BBQ Festival Saturday, Oct. 22, from 10 to 6.
• learned that Wascher hired a new athletic coordinator for
the recreation department
• learned that the Fall Cleanup will take place Nov. 18-21
•were reminded that the city offers flu shots to employees
and elected officials
•were reminded that the city plans a “no-shave November”
to build awareness of the need for men to have an annual pros
tate exam. The person judged to have the best beard will win
$250 — but must be able to document having had a prostate
exam during the year.
• viewed a brief video shot by Tommy Heffernan of Accounts
Payable during the Cruisin’ Commerce event Saturday from
Heffernan’s drone.
