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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 3A Health board gets update on counseling program BY SHARON HOGAN Banks County Health Board mem bers heard a presentation on the Niyelo Counseling Program at the quarterly meeting last week. Mamie Harper, District 2 Health Board member, presented the program. Harper said District 2 is the only district in the state with this program and it was first used in Banks County. The program works on personal skills. Members participate by playing non competitive games, working together with other group members in problem solving initiatives, participating in low and high elements on a rope course, set ting and working on personal and group goals and giving and receiving feedback. Harper said at one time there was a ropes course in Banks County on prop erty owned by the school board. Schools Superintendent Chris Erwin said due to several reasons the course was no longer there. Erwin said there were three reasons for closing the course, one being the inactivity for its use. Erwin said there were only a couple of people trained to use the course. Another reason was the property was needed for school expansion and the third being the school’s insurance company was going to triple the insurance rate because of this. Health board member Rita Chapman, counselor at Banks County Middle School, said she still uses some aspects of the program in her work at the school. Erwin instructed Chapman to meet with graduation coach Rob Moffitt to discuss this program to be implemented at the middle school level. Health board vice chairman Gene Hart told Erwin and the others that he thought the county had some property that could be utilized for a course and they would work on this project. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at the meeting on Tuesday: •Dale Carter presented the quarterly environmental health report. The report is for the period of December 1, 2007, HARPER EXPLAINS PROGRAM TO HEALTH BOARD MEMBERS Mamie Harper, District 2 Health Board, is shown explaining the Niyelo Counseling Program to Banks County Health Board members at the monthly meeting on Tuesday. Shown (L to R) are: Carol Ayers, Rita Chapman, Harper, and vice-chairman Gene Hart. Photo by Sharon Hogan to March 1, 2008. Carter said the envi ronmental health department received 46 septic permits with 21 of these being new. Carter said the county has a total of 63 restaurants, including the school cafeterias, and one new restaurant was inspected during this period. The department investigated 11 animal bite reports and confirmed one positive case of rabies on Queen Road. •Erwin told the board members that all of the school’s cafeterias scored 100 on their recent health inspections and this was something for the school sys tem to be proud of. •Health Department Nurse JoAnn Dodd reported the health department had administered over 600 flu shots. Dodd stated the health department recently had a nurse to resign and they are sharing a nurse with two other health departments at this time. •Erwin told the board members that the school system nurse will be out on maternity leave beginning April 15 and he would appreciate any help the health department could give during this time. •Dr. David Westfall, District 2 Public Health Director, presented a report to the board on clinical use for 2007. The report shows based on the 2006 popu lation for Banks County of 16,445 a total of 3,155 new clients were served in 2007 or 19 percent. Environmental health provided 2,523 total services in 2007 with 911 of these being per mits, inspections and site evaluations. Westfall said the department is currently over budget by $54,467 for this year. Some of the items that have contributed to this are the fact that environmental health revenues are less than anticipated in the budget. If the current trend con tinues, expectations are that by June 30 we will earn $19,826 less than we budgeted, Westfall said. Also, the admin claiming monies have not been received for the first two quarters of FY 2008, totaling $15,600. •Gregg Sheffield, District 2 Public Health, presented the current budget and the proposed FY 2009 budget to the board. Sheffield said the current total revenue and expenses for FY 2008 is $627,284 and the projected total reve nue and expenses for 2009 is $585,135. Sheffield said the total cash on hand as of February 29 was $206,912. The Banks County Board of Commissioners contributes 13 percent of the total bud get to the health department or a total of $110,000. The next regularly scheduled quar terly meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10, in the conference room at the health department. Rogers announce plans to run for state senate District 50 ROGERS Terry Rogers announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for Georgia’s 50th district State Senate seat. “For the past several months, I’ve been talk ing with citizens across North Georgia, seeking their opinions and advice while listening to their concerns,” Rogers said. “I’m over whelmed by the encouragement and support I’ve received. People have been eager to talk about solutions to local problems and that’s where I’ll focus this campaign - on local issues and concerns.” When questioned about a campaign platform, Rogers said: “I’m a con servative who represents traditional North Georgia values. That is the cornerstone of my plat form; however this campaign will be about everyday issues such as water, education, health care and economic opportunities, not politics. People are tired of mud sling ing and partisan bickering. “The only promise I’ll make is one I know I can keep. When elected, I’ll hold two “town hall” type meetings a year in each county. I will invite the state representative and county commission chairperson, whether Republican or Democrat to be co-hosts. We may not always agree but by listening together, talk ing together and actively working together we can bring new opportu nities to this district. It’s time to get something accomplished.” Rogers has lived in the district for over 30 years. He served as a city commissioner and mayor pro tem of Cornelia and has been actively involved in a number of local orga nizations. Most recently, he served as vice chair of the Habersham County Courthouse Advisory Committee and chaired the Keep Money in Your Pocket Committee, a citizen group that worked to pass the last Habersham County SPLOST ref erendum. He currently serves on the Habersham County Industrial Development Authority. Rogers was an Outstanding Young Man of America and Outstanding Georgia Citizen. He and wife Laura have five children and reside in the Clarkesville area. They attend First Presbyterian Church of Clarkesville where he serves as an Elder and co-chairman of the Mission and Outreach Committee. The 50th District is composed of Banks, Franklin, Hart, Habersham, Rabun, Stephens, Towns counties and a portion of White County. Maysville tax rates to differ for Banks, Jackson residents BY KERRI TESTEMENT Maysville’s Banks County residents are slated to have a higher property tax bill than last year, while the city’s Jackson County residents will be pay ing less. The Maysville City Council held the first of three public hearings to address the proposed city tax chang es on Thursday. Public hearings will also be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, and Monday, March 24, at the Maysville Public Library. Banks County residents in Maysville will have a millage rate of .0810 mills, compared to .710 mills last year. Total property taxes to be paid among Banks County residents in the city is projected at $14,589, compared to $11,742 in 2007. Jackson County residents in Maysville, however, are expected to see their millage drop from 3.194 mills in 2007 to 2.728 this year. Total prop erty taxes to be paid among Jackson County residents in Maysville is esti mated at $64,196, compared to $72,322 last year. “Part of this complexity is Maysville being in two counties,” explained city attorney Gary Freeman. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled several years ago that cities located in more than one county can’t use sales tax funds from one county to offset sales tax revenue from another county, Freeman said. Maysville’s millage rate is deter mined by how much sales tax revenue it receives from Banks and Jackson counties. That amount can change each year among the two counties, he said. Maysville received $147,016 in sales tax funds from Banks County in 2007, compared to $127,875 in sales tax rev enue from Jackson County, Freeman explained. Banks County receives a large por tion of its sales tax revenue from Banks Crossing in Commerce. Stores on the Banks County portion of the area include the Home Depot and Tanger Town Centre. Tanger Outlet Center II is located in Jackson County. “Banks Crossing really does us a lot of good,” Freeman said of the sales tax revenue. Banks County residents in Maysville also have to pay for a fire tax, which is estimated at $17,652 this year. Jackson County residents pay their fire bill with their county taxes, Freeman said. From both counties, Maysville is antic ipating to receive a total of $289,590 from sales tax funds and $78,786 in property taxes. Overall, Maysville is planning to raise property taxes for Banks County resi dents by 14.08 percent, while decreas ing property taxes for Jackson County residents by 14.59 percent. Freeman said while those numbers appear big, they may be deceiving. “For us, I don’t think that anyone’s taxes will up more than $10 (this year),” Freeman said. The budget process in Maysville begins when city leaders establish a proposed budget, Freeman said. Maysville is proposing a 2008 budget of $1.2 million, compared to $1.1 mil lion last year. City officials then review anticipated revenue, including property taxes, sales tax and other income sources, Freeman said. The gross millage rate for residents in both counties of the city must be the same. Maysville is not planning to raise its gross millage rate from 8.162 mills, but since sales tax revenue from Banks and Jackson county differed, property taxes must be adjusted, according to Freeman. In other years, Jackson County resi dents in Maysville paid more in prop erty taxes than their neighbors in Banks County, Freeman said. “This is the way the law says we have to calculate it,” he said. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN The Maysville City Council also heard a presentation on Thursday about the town’s 2008-2030 comprehensive plan. Adam Hazell, planning director of the Georgia Mountains Regional Development Center, gave the council preliminary data about Maysville. The data included information about the city’s population, economic devel opment, housing, transportation and cultural resources. The comprehensive plan provides a “snapshot” of a community that identi fies existing resources and opportunities for the future, Hazell said. A compre hensive plan helps officials establish their goals and priorities for a com munity, based on existing conditions, he added. Maysville is seeking 12-18 people for an advisory committee to assist the city council on the comprehensive plan. Those on the committee will review issues as a whole of the community and make suggestions to the council, Hazell said. The committee is expected to meet two to three times over the next few months. Need A Mortgage? qqW \ We Specialize in Making The Loan Work Purchases, FHA, Conventional S Refinance Your Old Mortgage before it adjusts or get Cash Back S Down Payment Assistance Program S Mobile Homes with Land ,/ Prequalification By Phone S Bankruptcy Before OK S Slow Credit OK y Too many programs to mention! Call For Details! JASON BROWN • (706) 498-2719 Your Local Lending Experts! 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Tickets are $10/5 tastes. Tickets are on sale now. If interested, please call Karen Derochers at 404-983 8189 or Vicki Whitmire at 770-654-0260. If interested in participating as a food or craft vendor, please call Karen Derochers or Janet McDonald at 706-658-6232.