Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 5A
House committee passes working eldery tax break
BY JEANETTE JAMIESON
Special to the BCN
Last week, the Ways and Means
Committee of the Georgia House
of Representatives passed HB
1157, which finally addresses a
great injustice created some years
ago when Georgia began exclud
ing retirement income for citizens
age 62 and older from state income
tax.
Over recent years this exclusion
has reached $35,000 per year, if
received from interest, dividends,
pension, rent, alimony and etc. At
the same time, elderly citizens who
chose to or must continue to work
could exempt only $4,000 of the
wages earned.
HB 1157 raises the wage exemp
tion to $16,000 per taxpayer for our
working elderly. The committee’s
action makes it possible for the
legislation to be voted on by the
full House of Representatives and
Senate.
We expect to continue to increase
this wage exemption until it equals
the retirement exemption available
to other citizens 62 and older.
Jeanette Jamieson is Banks
County’s state representative.
Concerns about fire department
Dear Editor:
What is going on with our fire
department? I have been made aware
of an impending crisis that for some
reason, almost no one knows about.
It seems that there is a movement
underway to restructure our fire
department from a mostly volunteer
department to a mostly full-time
personnel staffed department. From
what I hear, this movement has
started under the guise of deceit and
miscommunication.
Since I have only limited knowl
edge of what is going on, I will
state the circumstances and ask for
a response:
1. Why are some wanting to demote
personnel that have had decades of
experience in our county? These
people have real world experience
that cannot be learned at fireman’s
camp. The volunteers have to take
all the same test and certification
as any body that is on the full time
roster.
2. What do they mean by cut-
ting their per call pay? The measly
$20-$30 they get per call won’t
even buy gas to monthly meetings
these days.
3. Are pensions being protected,
or are they trying to pull a corporate
trick and leave them with little or
nothing after decades of risking their
life for our county?
I know several of these good peo
ple who volunteer their time and
resources for no other reason than
to help their friends and neighbors
of the county. They do not want an
8 to 4 schedule like someone on a
full-time roster would.
Which brings up another issue:
What about after hours and week
ends? How much is overtime going
to cost? How many people is it
going to take to cover this?
I have been told that the volunteer’s
budget for call pay is approximately
$50,000 per year. This is split up
between all the volunteer personnel.
How many full time people can you
get for this amount?
But my main issue is the safety
concerns that would manifest them
selves when you take seasoned fire
fighters with actual experience and
strip them of their on scene authority
to make decisions. That will affect
not only property, but lives as well.
Our fire department worked long
and hard for several years to get
proper accreditation and training
needed for our county to enjoy lower
fire class ratings. To lose this sig
nificant accomplishment over some
inexperienced management is not
only foolish, but expensive as well.
The difference in insurance rates
between a Class 5, such as we have
now, and what we would have if we
lost accreditation, is staggering.
All this brings me back around to
my original question: What is going
on? Why is this being kept so quiet?
I think any issue of this importance
should at least be known to citizens.
Sincerely,
Weldon Mintz
Maysville
Meetings citizens can attend in county
The following local government agencies hold regular
meetings which are open to the public:
•Maysville City Council, 7 p.m., first Monday of each
month at the Maysville Public Library.
•Banks County High School All-Sports Booster Club,
6:30 p.m., first Monday of each month, BCHS library.
•Maysville Beautification Committee, 7 p.m., fourth
Thursday of each month at the Maysville Public
Library.
•Banks County Planning Commission, 7 p.m., first
Tuesday of each month at the courthouse.
•Gillsville City Council, 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each
month at city hall. A work session is held at 7 p.m. on
the third Thursday of the month.
•Banks County Board of Education, 7 p.m., third
Monday of each month at the BOE office. The work
session is held on the Thursday prior to the regular
meeting.
•Baldwin City Council, 7 p.m., second and fourth
Monday of each month at city hall. A work session is
held at 6:30 p.m. on the Thursday preceding each regu
lar meeting.
•Homer City Council, 6 p.m., second Tuesday of each
month at city hall.
•Banks County Board of Commissioners 6:30 p.m.
second Tuesday of each month at the courthouse. A
work session is held at 3:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday
of the month at the courthouse.
•Alto City Council, 7 p.m., second Tuesday of each
month at city hall.
•Lula City Council, 7 p.m., third Monday of each
month at city hall.
•BCMS Club, 6:30 p.m., third Monday of each month
at the Banks County Middle School lunchroom.
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Believes Madison deserved sentence
Dear Editor:
As one of the public disillusioned
with government due to an alarming
increase of corrupt public officials,
I sometimes wonder, “Where’s the
justice?” Not yet finding the answer,
and by understanding that I have
no direct judicial influence, I must
settle for the axiom of “some justice
is better than none.” Consequently,
I am thankful for the justice issued
in the form of a prison sentence
towards former District Attorney
Tim Madison.
For innumerous reasons, I have
little faith in our justice system.
Nevertheless, I am sympathetic to
those who must endure it, for what
ever reasons, with one exception
- corrupt officials like Madison. I
would undoubtedly have no pre
formed opinion of Madison had he
not been using a public office to
reward himself financially. On a
side note, I’m convinced that he
probably awarded himself in many
more ways than those that have been
brought into light. On the contrary,
he was a public official; he was a
District Attorney, of all things.
Actually, no, he wasn’t. In fact,
he was a con artist; an impostor,
a swindler, and a fraud. He was
all of those things, but most of all,
he was a crooked bureaucrat who
was metaphorically reaching into
the pockets of the many tens of thou
sands of citizens spread throughout
the Piedmont District by stealing
public funds and organizing a small
ring of people, including his wife,
to help hide the fact. I can’t stop
the vision in my head that shows
Madison prosecuting people daily
in court for their immoral or illegal
acts, while in the evenings he rushes
to his bank’s night depository, all-
the-while laughing maniacally. I’ll
never understand that, but I’m sure
he rationalized it to himself.
I feel compelled, in closing, to
make a few rebuttals to the wit
ness’ testimony as well. I must
say, though I was not present, there
appears to be conflicting testimony,
according to the paper.
After all, is there such a thing
as an honest con man? “Oh, he’s
a really good guy - except for the
fact that he scams public money, is
untrustworthy, and is an alcoholic,”
seems to be a good paraphrasing of
the testimony of which I read. I also
find it hard to reconcile the state
ment of alcoholism “clouding his
entire thinking” with the testimony
of his “brilliance as a prosecutor!”
Maybe he was brilliant - a brilliant
shady con.
In closing, I have no sympathy
for the prison sentence he received.
Moreover, I have no sympathy for
any corrupt official. I hope that
more inquiring minds, like the
original MainStreet News report
ers who brought this matter to the
public, will continue to help root
out the shady officials by asking
questions and persistently demand
ing answers. My sympathies are
with the honorable Sheriff Charles
Chapman; my thoughts are with you
and I hope that any suspicions cast
toward your administration will be
quickly and thoroughly dispelled. I
also extend my sympathies to other
honest employees of the other public
offices involved as well.
Finally, I must say that I think
it would be a shame if Madison
became segregated by being placed
into federal prison.
As that aforementioned vision
of Madison replays in my head, I
personally think that he should be
forced to serve with the people he
prosecuted in the state prison now,
that would be my idea of complete
justice.
Sincerely,
Patsy McGill
Commerce
Responds to fire department controversy
Dear Editor:
It has recently come to my atten
tion that the Banks County Fire
Department has undergone an over
haul that has potentially devastating
consequences. The fact of the matter
is that the volunteer force has more
experience and more commitment
to their district than even the interim
chief, who seems to believe that it
is a good idea to demote or abolish
experienced officers that volunteer
their time, energy, even their lives
for the safety of our community in
order to give the paid officers more
power.
Ladies and gentleman, this move
will take our fire department in
the wrong direction by taking the
authority of the majority of our
experienced officers, people who
have freely given their skills to our
county for years.
What will happen when these offi
cers cannot reply to a problem when
they do not have authority in the
field? This is a slap in the face not
only to the fire department, but also
to the public. A power trip like
this can cause drastic damage if an
inexperienced officer leads people
to getting hurt or even killed. These
changes in the fire department can
and will put the lives of the officers
and those that they are responsible
for in jeopardy.
I sincerely hope that the situation
can be ratified before the officers
either walk out or someone gets
killed because of someone who has
no experience over-rules an experi
enced volunteer.
Sincerely,
Carl Mintz
Maysville
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