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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2008
Baldwin looks at bid from auditors
Council to moke decision at Thursday meeting
BY SHARON HOGAN
The City of Baldwin is reviewing
three bids from auditors and a deci
sion is expected to be made at an
Aug. 14 meeting on the firm that will
handle the city’s audit.
City of Baldwin Financial Officer
Betty Harper presented three bids
from auditors to council members
at Thursday’s work session meeting.
The council will approve the bid at
the council meeting on Thursday,
Aug. 14, immediately after the
financial meeting scheduled for
6:30 p.m.
“In the past, we have gone with
one auditor year after year,” Harper
said. “This year, we have decided to
bid it out.”
Three bids have been received for
this service. The bids are: J. Green
CPA, Toccoa, $8,000; Joe Kitchens,
Clarkesville, $10,000; and Rushton
and Company, Gainesville, $13,000
to $14,000.
Council member Jeff Murray asked
whether the auditors will be changed
each year and whether the price for
doing the job would go up after the
work has been done.
Murray said Rushton gave the city
a price of $9,000 and then there was
a lot of work that had to be done and
they went up on the price. Murray
voiced concern that if there is more
work to be done than they initially
thought, they might increase the
price at the end of the year. Murray
said the auditors said there were
some problems with some informa
tion coming from Beth Grimes, the
city’s financial consultant, and this
caused the price to go up.
“Grimes said it was the other way
around,” Murray said.
Interim Mayor Ray Holcomb said,
“If we have a contract with them for
a certain price, then that is all they
should get.”
Harper said all the auditors have
the same guidelines they have to
go by.
“All of the bidders will have a
clause in their contract that says if
they find something that they are
going to have to investigate further
they can increase their price, but
they should contact us about this,”
Harper said.
Murray indicated that Rushton
and Company told Grimes about the
price increase prior to the close of
the audit and she did not inform the
city of the increase.
“Rushton went through Beth
(Grimes) and she didn’t let us know,”
Murray said.
This item will be on the council's
agenda for action Thursday.
OTHER ITEMS
•Harper presented three bids for
the council consideration for a secu
rity system for city hall. The sys
tem will cover both the inside and
outside of the building for an alarm
system and video surveillance. The
funds for the security system will
come from Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) reve
nues. Bids were received from: Elite
Security, Chestnut Mountain, $4,995;
Ansley Communications Group,
Cornelia, $9,300; and Electronic
Sales Company, Gainesville, $6,651.
Harper said she would like to have
Baldwin Police Chief Daren Osborn
look over the bids before action is
taken on this. This will be on the
agenda for Thursday’s council meet
ing.
•Harper said the city has received
several complaints about animals,
mainly dogs, running around in the
city. Harper said she contacted the
Habersham County manager to pro
vide some information to Baldwin
and the other cities around concern
ing the county providing animal con
trol to these areas. The county sent a
proposal out to all the cities located
in Habersham County. The proposal
shows the county hiring an addition
al officer and purchasing an addi
tional truck at a total cost of $69,096.
Each city would pay a fee based
on their population and the cost for
Baldwin would be $15,040 per year.
The city’s population in Habersham
County is 2,311; this would make
up 21.77 percent of the total cost
for this position. Harper said, “The
first problem with this is it has not
been budgeted in the budget we just
passed.” Murray said, “Doesn’t the
citizens who pay taxes in Habersham
County already pay for this?” Harper
said, “Yes, this would be like paying
for it twice.” Murray also mentioned
that this would only affect half of
the city. Baldwin resident Victoria
Kelley said, “Is there any way to get
Banks County to help with this for
the Banks County citizens?” Mayoral
candidate Mark Reed said, “In the
service delivery strategy there is an
agreement that Habersham County
should be providing this service,
they are just refusing to do so. Same
goes for fire protection.”
•Holcomb announced two upcom
ing state A Georgia Department
of Transportation workshops on
Tuesday, Aug. 12, in Gainesville, and
Wednesday, Aug. 13, in Cleveland,
from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Holcomb
said the workshops are important
for local governments for state A
projects. Some of the items covered
are roads that are not paved, bridges
and drainage, intersections and side
walks. Holcomb said state A projects
are in addition to LARP projects.
Holcomb said he planned to attend if
no other members were interested.
•Harper reported that she is look
ing into getting the city’s zoning
map updated. Joe Walter, Precision
Planning, created this map and
updated it for the city, Harper said.
“He still has it in digital format and
he will charge up to $800 to update
the map,” Harper said. Harper rec
ommended waiting to see what hap
pens with the annexations the city
is considering before making the
updates. Mayoral candidate Mike
Kelley said, “We need to get a good
working map.” Harper said, “I think
we have a grant that would allow us
to do some of that mapping, but we
would have to purchase a system to
run it.”
Banks-Jackson Emergency Food Bank
Area citizens rely on service for assistance
LOW STOCK
Banks-Jackson Emergency Food Bank manager Christa Shumake
stands in front of the nearly empty shelves. The downturn in
the economy is sending larger numbers of families to the food
bank for short-term emergency help.
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
Business is booming at the Banks-
Jackson Emergency Food Bank in
Commerce. That is never a good
thing.
So many people have come to the
food bank that its shelves are nearly
bare.
“It’s the lowest I can remember, and
I’ve been here 14 years,” remarked
Christa Shumake, manager.
The slack economy has dealt a
double-whammy to the food bank.
More people are out of work — and
food — so they appeal to the food
bank, and donations of both food
and money are also down, for the
same reasons.
And, said Shumake, August
is always the food bank’s worst
month.
Located on Georgia Avenue
in a building provided by First
Commerce Bank, the food bank sup
plies the short-term emergency food
needs of people referred by a local
church or by the Jackson or Banks
Departments of Family and Children
Services. Recipients typically get a
one-week supply of food.
“We’re having so many families
come in,” said Shumake. “We’ve
been having more than 100 a
month.”
The food comes from a number
of sources. Food Lion in Jefferson
and Quality Foods in Commerce,
for example, donate leftover perish
able items. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell
at Banks Crossing provide pizzas,
which are frozen, and Longhorn’s
donates baked potatoes, which are
frozen.
Those donations are also down,
but they remain a crucial part of the
food bank’s supplies.
Other groups hold food drives, and
the food bank uses donations from
individuals and churches to buy food
from the Food Bank of Northeast
Georgia in Athens.
Donations of cash have also fallen
off, due to the economy, according
to Shumake.
“I had a couple in here Monday,
they were so hungry I warmed them
a pizza, and they stood here and ate
it,” she recalled. “They hadn’t had
anything all day. He was out of work
and she couldn’t find work.”
A lot of the recently unemployed
are in the construction business,
which has been devastated by the
mortgage crisis.
Shelves aren’t bare, but the food
bank’s inventory is critically low,
Shumake said.
Stocks of rice, macaroni and
cheese, soup, peanut butter, canned
fruits and vegetables are crucial to
meeting the nutritional needs of
families, as are dried beans, grits
and oatmeal, and instant mashed
potatoes. Those items are purchased
by the pound from the regional food
bank at a steeply discounted price.
The food bank is open from 9:30
to 1:30 Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays.
Get e-mail alert every time Banks website updated
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The new website, www.BanksNewsTODAY.com, is
updated several times each week with the latest informa
tion about what is going on in Banks County. Updates
are often posted on a daily basis.
“This gives our readers the ability to find out the latest
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To sign up to be notified when the site is updated, go
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Input on the new website may be sent to the editor at
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613 Hawthorne Avenue • Athens, Georgia 30606
706-369-0000
Dear Friends: July 29, 2008
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613 Hawthorne Avenue
Athens, Georgia 30606
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