About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2017)
PAGE 2A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2017 Tax assessors upset with BOE decision not to fund position BY ANGELA GARY The Banks County Board of Tax Assessors has been informed that the board of education decided against partially funding a new coun ty position to update proper ty value. Chief tax appraiser Guy Rogers presented the pro posal to the BOE in May. He estimates that updating the property values would bring an additional $500,000 in revenue to the board of com missioners and $700,000 to the BOE. Rogers reported at the July 12 board of tax assessors meeting that he had received a letter from school super intendent Stan Davis stating that the BOE decided against providing the funds. “They are not going to fund it,” Rogers told the tax assessor board. “They dis cussed it and decided not to do it. I think it’s a big mistake on their part.” Tax assessor board mem ber Sam Moon stated, “That is a poor decision on their part.” Rogers had already received support for his pro posal from the Banks County Board of Commissioners and county tax assessor board. When Rogers presented the plan to the BOE in May, members of the board ques tioned the school system being asked to pay $20,000 to fund the position when it already pays $200,000 to the county to collect school taxes. In other business at the board of tax assessors meet ing: • a contract with TBS was approved for the company to conduct random audits of companies to make sure they are in compliance. The contract calls for expenses to be a maximum of $20,000. • Rogers reported that the county received 202 proper ty value appeals. • Rogers reported that the county’s Georgia Depart ment of Audit ratio is 40.3 percent. Len Dalton, chair man of the board of tax assessors, stated: “That is a job well done. Thank you.” County project update given BY ANGELA GARY Banks County Board of Commission chairman Jimmy Hooper gave an update on county projects last week at the July board meeting. The project update includ ed the following: • right-of-way has been acquired for the Eisenhower Road/Faulkner Drive project and the project is “shov el-ready.” •bids will be opened on the senior center project on Aug. 10. •work is continuing on the updated county employ ee personnel policy and it is expected to be implemented in the fall. •the event center at Banks Crossing is on hold because Rep. Dan Gasaway did not introduce legislation to increase the motel tax to fund the project, Hooper stated. • bids will be taken in Sep tember on the Gowder Road improvement project. •construction will begin soon on the Diana Foods facility locating at Banks Crossing. •a comprehensive plan update is planned. Hooper also spoke on the transportation local option sales tax that was not approved by voters in 2012. He didn’t endorse or oppose the tax but stated that it could be placed on the Novem ber ballot for voters to again consider. He said it could generate $15 million over five years to be used on road improvements. If passed sales tax in Banks County would increase from seven cents per $1 to eight cents. In other business at the meeting, the BOC: • approved a bid from Car ter’s for $6,700 for erosion work at the new training facil ity for the sheriff’s office. •approved a credit card system policy for the sher iff’s office with a maximum one-time purchase limit of $4,000. •heard from Sheriff Carl ton Speed about the need for a “body bug” to be used in undercover operations. No action was taken but the sheriff agreed to get more information to present to the commissioners. Banks BOE approves personnel BY ANGELA GARY The Banks County Board of Education approved sev eral personnel items after a closed session meeting held Thursday evening. Those hired by the board of education include the fol lowing: • Heather Geipel - Teach er, effective beginning of 2017-2018 school year. • Sherry Lewis - Teacher, effective beginning of 2017- 2018 school year. • Clarissa Duncan Teacher, effective beginning of 2017-2018 school year. • Christy Beasley - Teach er, effective beginning of 2017-2018 school year. •Kelly Peppers - 49 per cent teacher, effective 2017- 2018 school year. • Theo Caldwell - 49 per cent teacher, effective 2017- 2018 school year. •Linda Hawks - 49 per cent teacher, effective 2017- 2018 school year. •Danny Hicks - 49 per cent teacher, effective 2017- 2018 school year. • Pam Strrickland - 49 per cent teacher, effective 2017- 2018 school year. •Bobby Wood - Teach er, effective 2017-2018 school year. •Beth Seay - Paraprofes- sional, effective beginning of 2017-2018 school year. • Katrina Boyd - Bus driv er, effective beginning of 2017-2018 school year. • Megan Kilgore - Bus driver, effective beginning of 2017-2018 school year. i2 MAKING LANTERNS Area youth made lanterns as part of an arts and craft project at the Banks County Public Library. Homer Planning Commission to meet July 27 on zoning The Town of Homer Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at town hall on Thursday, July 27, at 7 p.m. to receive public comments on the application of Banks County Golf, LLC for a proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance to zone property located at 491 Scales Creek Road from R-l Single-Family Residential District to R-2 Multi-family Residential District. A copy of the application is available for public inspection at the Homer Town Hall. The public hearing of Homer Town Council will be on Tues day, Aug. 8, at 6 p.m. The town council will consider adoption of the zoning request at the regular meeting immediately fol lowing the public hearing. BOC to meet Aug. 10 The Banks County Commissioners will hold a called meet ing on Thursday, August 10, at 2:30 p.m. in the board room of the Banks County Courthouse Annex. The purpose of the meeting is to open submitted bids for the construction/reno- vation of the Banks County Senior Center. Rotary Club sponsors Food 2 Kids Program The Banks County Rotary Club is sponsoring the Food 2 Kids Program in the county school system. “School isn’t just a place for learning,” organizers state. “For some of our most impoverished kids, it’s also the only reliable source of food in their lives. The sad tmth is that from Friday afternoon until they return to school on Monday morning, some of these children may not know if or how much they’ll get to eat.” Food 2 Kids is a program that helps bridge that gap for some of the community’s neediest kids. Sacks of kid-friendly food- enough for at least six meals—are handed out every week to children identified by school teachers, counselors and officials as being most in need. To donate or for more information, contact Sallie Hensley at 706-713-0730. Spend one minute reading this now. Protect your family for a lifetime. Natural gas is a colorless, odorless fuel, but for safety reasons, a chemical odorant sometimes described as a "rotten egg" smell is added, making the presence of gas detectable. Natural gas odors should be reported right away. Do not try to locate the source of the smell. If you smell natural gas, call Atlanta Gas Light at 877.4274321 Smell gas? Act fast! If you smell this odor: • Alert others and leave the area immediately. • Leave the door open as you exit. • Avoid touching anything that may cause a spark. This includes starting a car engine or using cell phones, lighters, matches, cigarettes, flashlights, light switches or landlines. • Go to a phone away from the area and call Atlanta Gas Light or 911. ^ Atlanta Gas Light atlantagaslight.com © 2017 Southern Company. All rights reserved. Do not reuse text or graphics without written permission. AGL-16083
