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PAGE 2A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. MARCH 26. 2009
Co. BOC to meet Monday
Madison
The Madison County Board
of Commissioners will meet
at 6:30 p.m., Monday, March
30, in the county govern
ment complex.
Agenda items include:
•Chairman's report.
(Chairman Anthony Dove)
•Report from IDA —
Marvin White.
•Statements and remarks
from citizens on agenda
items.
•Consider refunds for two
(2) taxpayers: Mrs. Lee Rice
Estate — Refund for 2005
and 2006 parcels 0086-007
and 0086-007-AOZ; Refund
for Sharon Turpin for 2007
for parcel 0077-018. (Stacey
Rubio)
•Consider personnel issues:
Andy McLendon — certified
as Code Enforcement II and
EMS — Rehire Jonathan
Looney for part-time call in
list. (Donna Sisk)
•Discuss purchasing addi
tional vehicles for the sher
iff's department. (Sheriff
Kip Thomas)
•Consider speed zone ordi
nance for Madison County.
(Sheriff Kip Thomas)
•Discuss changes to ani
mal control ordinance. (Jack
Huff)
•Consider bids for county
lawn maintenance. (Alan
Lapczynski)
•Consider proclama
tion for Madison County
Recreational Department’s
11 and 12 year old state
basketball champions.
(Chairman Dove)
•Discuss waiving tax fees
for James Neal Sartain, Cindi
Sartain, POA.
•Discuss internships with
Madison County High
School for the senior center.
(Joe Dudley))
•Discuss right of way deed
between Madison County
Industrial Development
and Building Authority Inc.
and Madison County, Ga.
Business Drive and Millcreek
Drive. (Chairman Dove)
•Discuss occupation tax/
business license. (Eddie
Pritchett)
•Discuss video of meet
ings and the termination of
American Law Enforcement
Network's contract. (Gary
Venable)
•Discuss in house engineer.
(Chairman Dove)
•Discuss contract with the
volunteer fire departments.
(Chairman Dove)
•Discuss board of asses
sors and chief appraiser.
(Chairman Dove)
•Review April 6, 2009
agenda.
•Statements and remarks
from citizens,
•Closed session to discuss
land acquisition, personnel
matters and/or potential liti
gation (if needed).
Assessors .cont’dfrom 1A
Dove said the ongoing tax
troubles in the county call
for tough action. Madison
County’s tax digest has been
late for eight straight years.
The county chief appraiser's
position has been vacant for
all of 2009. And Dove said
the board of assessor mem
bers have known for months
that they need to make rec
ommendations on the chief
appraiser’s post. However,
the BOA has only offered one
candidate for the position,
Stacey Rubio, the interim
chief appraiser who the BOC
turned down by a 4-1 vote.
Rubio announced her resig
nation last week, but Dove
said Tuesday that Rubio has
withdrawn her resignation
and will stay on staff.
“We’re very pleased that
she has decided to stay,” said
Dove. “She is an asset to the
county.”
Dove said a primary frus
tration with the assessors
has been their inability to
provide commissioners with
hiring options.
“If one candidate wasn't
going to work out. they need
ed to be ready to present
another,” he said.
Commissioners noted last
week that the tax assess
ment process is falling far
behind schedule this year,
which could set the revenue
process behind for all tax
levying entities in the coun
ty, including the cities and
the schools, leading to late
tax bills and governments
borrowing money again to
operate. There’s a consensus
that hiring a chief appraiser
quickly is crucial. However,
there are disagreements on
who should be in charge of
the search process — the
BOC or the BOA.
Dove said the county
couldn't afford to wait any
longer on hiring a chief
appraiser. He asked com
missioners to change county
guidelines to eliminate the
requirement that the assessor
board make a recommenda
tion for a chief appraiser.
And the board voted 5-0 last
Wednesday to take the search
process from the BOA.
“The BOA has known since
November that we were going
to need a chief appraiser,” said
Commissioner John Pethel
at last Wednesday's meet
ing. “There's been constant
bickering and resigning and
rescinding their resignation,
back and forth. And we’re
right now in mid-March and
we still don't have a chief
appraiser and we've only had
one candidate come to us. ...
I just feel like it's time that
we move forward and get
something done. And I don’t
feel like the BOA as it is now
can do that for us.”
Escoe, who said he felt
James Flynt should have
been kept on as chief
appraiser, said he felt Rubio
would have made a good
lead appraiser. He said the
BOC essentially hamstrung
the BOA by shooting too
high in the search with too
little funding. He noted that
the BOC expected the BOA
to find an experienced chief
appraiser with in-house reval
uation experience. However,
he said he felt the county
could have gotten somebody
for $45,000 in-house with
money left over to address
other needs.
“I believe we had a good
plan and could have done it
under budget,” said Escoe.
“If James (Flynt) was there
we would be on schedule and
I believe we still would have
been with Stacey as chief
appraiser.”
Stewart, the lone remaining
BOA member who voted for
Carey Lamb of Swainsboro
to serve as chief appraiser in
January, said he felt Lamb
would have been a good
choice for the job, but the
BOA voted against that rec
ommendation 3-2 in January.
He said he felt a lot of strife
could have been avoided
with Lamb's hiring.
“We did have a plan in
place at the first of January,”
said Stewart.
Stewart cited a Dec. 10
article in The Madison
County Journal in which
Dove was quoted as saying
that the board of assessors
should serve as a “firewall”
between the commissioners
and the appraisal staff. He
said he didn't feel the chair
man's recent actions reflect
that view.
Dove said this week that he
would be willing to restore
the previous arrangement
with the BOA, but he said
the current tax dilemma is a
crisis situation that requires
immediate action and that
the assessor board has not
shown the ability to move
quickly.
“We’re sitting here in a
recession with all these peo
ple having problems,” said
Dove. “They shouldn't have
to worry about another $100
on their escrow account or
two tax bills in one year
(because of the county’s
assessment troubles). What
I’m considering is the citi
zens of Madison County.
We don't need any more tur
moil.”
Georgia unemployment rate sets new record
The Georgia Department
of Labor (GDOL) reported
last week that the state’s
seasonally adjusted unem
ployment rate rose to 9.3
percent in February, the
highest rate ever recorded
in Georgia. The previous
high was a revised 8.5 per
cent in January.
“For the second consecu
tive month Georgia suf
fered from record unem
ployment,” said State Labor
Commissioner Michael
Thurmond. “Times are dif
ficult, but not hopeless. I
encourage all Georgians to
keep the faith. Don’t give
in, don’t give up, and don’t
give out.”
The February jobless rate
was up 3.9 percent from 5.4
percent at this same time
last year. Georgia’s unem
ployment rate remained
above the national rate of
8.1 percent for the 16th
consecutive month.
At present, 445,498 unem
ployed Georgians are look
ing for work, an increase of
69.2 percent over the year.
Of that number, 159,359,
or 35.8 percent, are receiv
ing unemployment insur
ance benefits.
The number of payroll
jobs in February decreased
189,800, or 4.6 percent,
from February 2008. The
losses came in manufac
turing and construction,
trade, transportation and
warehousing, along with
professional and business
services, including tempo
rary employment agencies.
Jobs were added in educa
tional and health services,
state and local education,
and with the federal gov
ernment.
Commissioner Thurmond
urged jobseekers to expand
their job searches, explore
new training and educa
tional opportunities and
to make full use of the
reemployment services at
the department’s 53 career
centers around the state.
Each month, through its
reemployment program,
the department helps
about 24,000 jobseekers
find work. The locations
of the career centers and
Georgia labor market data
are available at www.dol.
state.ga.us.
NOTICE OF
DUI CONVICTION
Driving Under The Influence
Pursuant to O.C.G.A.
Code Section 40-6-391
NAME: Keith Allen Sarver
ADDRESS: 130Tabgitha Rdg.
Colbert, Ga
ARREST TIME & DATE: September 15,2007,4:45 p.m.
ARREST LOCATION: Georgia Highway 11 at/on
Truelove Road, Cleveland, Ga.
DISPOSITION: Guilty Plea
NAME OF COURT: White County Superior Court
Clerk of Court
Foreclosures remain up in ‘09
Madison County’s foreclosure Foreclosures
rate remains up in 2009.
There are 24 foreclosures in
Madison County for April, with
next month’s sale date set for
April 7 at the county courthouse
door.
In the first four months of
2009, there were 84 foreclo
sures in the county, with Madison County on pace for 252
on the year.
In 2008, there were 260 foreclosures in Madison County,
up from 150 in both 2006 and 2007.
Month
2008
2009
January
9
25
February 23
24
March
17
11
April
22
24
Ila council approves
commercial rezoning
The Ila City Council tentatively approved a commercial
rezoning at the comer of Hwy. 106 and Hwy. 98 earlier this
month. The property is the former site of a two-story home.
Property owner John Davis requested that the property be
zoned from residential to commercial. City clerk Susan Steed
said that Davis has not decided what business might be located
there.
The council agreed to the rezoning, but specified that Davis
meet several stipulations recommended by the city zoning
committee.
These include: that the council must approve a preliminary
plan that includes a brief description of the intended use, a
rough plan and elevation drawings for the property and that
once these are approved; the council must then approve detailed
plans for the property prior to the start of construction, and that
the plans shall be “complete enough to perform a complete
evaluation of the project, including, but not limited to, impact
on traffic flow, storm water runoff, impact on city water, the
community and esthetics.”
The council also agreed to provide assistance for tree limb
removal, at the suggestion of councilman Nathaniel Hobbs.
The council agreed to hire a tree surgeon to remove limbs,
provided that the residents put limbs on the roadside and trim
any limbs hanging over the right-of-way. The dates for this
service will be advertised.
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