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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. APRIL 23. 2009 — PAGE 5A
Hull council ponders sidewalks on Glenn Carrie
BOA issues letter in
response to commissioners
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The following letter was
written by board of asses
sor chairman David Ragland
and signed by each member
of the Madison County Board
of Assessors in response to
the county commissioners ’
dismissal of them.
Dear Mr. Dove and Ms.
Cox:
I am writing in response
to the Notice of Intent to
Remove from Office pursuant
to OCGA section 48-5-295
(b), dated April 7, 2009 (the
“notice”), which Mr. Dove
mailed to me on April 8,
2009. I dispute the grounds
for my removal as a member
of the Madison County Board
of Tax Assessors, set forth
in the Notice, and wish to
contest these grounds. I will
appear at the hearing before
the Madison County Board
of Commissioners, currently
scheduled for April 21, 2009,
beginning at 6 o’clock p.m.
I also hereby invoke my
right to a hearing before the
Superior Court of Madison
County, Georgia, and con
tend that I cannot be removed
involuntarily from the
Madison County Board of Tax
Assessors without first being
afforded such a hearing. My
participation at the hearing
before the Madison County
Board of Commissioners
shall not be construed as a
waiver of my right to have
the issue of my removal from
the Madison County Board
of Tax Assessors decided
by a Judge of the Superior
Court, and I hereby express
ly reserve any and all such
rights.
Pursuant to O.C.G.A.
45-9-21 and applicable poli
cies of Madison County, I
also hereby request that the
Madison County Board of
Commissioners employ
Robert F. Leverett to repre
sent me in connection with
the removal proceedings,
and pay the reasonable fees
of Mr. Leverett and all rea
sonable costs, expenses and
other compensation associ
ated with such representa
tion. The county attorney,
Michael C. Pruett, clearly
has a conflict of interest
which ethically prevents him
from representing both the
Madison County Board of
Commissioners and me in
this matter. As a result, the
appointment of Mr. Leverett
is required.
I also felt that the state
ments at the end of the Notice
required a response.
In that portion of the Notice,
you urged me “to remember
the good of the county, and
to consider resigning,” and
stated that resigning would
be choosing the “high road.”
You essentially implied that
my contesting or disagreeing
with your grounds for remov
al would somehow be an irre
sponsible and selfish course
of action. I could not disagree
with you more. With all due
respect, I feel that the action
of the board of commission
ers in seeking to remove
me and other members of
the board of tax assessors is
another step in the repeated
and improper attempts of the
board of commissioners to
control and interfere with the
independence of the board
of tax assessors. My remov
al, and the removal of my
colleagues on the board of
tax assessors, would set a
precedent that would further
the commissioners’ attempts
to dominate and control the
board of tax assessors. In
my opinion, contesting the
removal would further inde
pendence of the board of tax
assessors and would thus
serve the best interests of the
people of Madison County.
Hull city leaders are pon
dering the possibility of side
walks on Glenn Carrie Road
should the money ever come
available.
Councilman Paul Cook
introduced the idea at
Monday’s city council meet
ing, envisioning sidewalks
that would start at Hidden
Falls subdivision and run
south on Glenn Carrie to the
intersection of Hwy. 72.
“Instead of getting in your
car to go to the post office,
I’d like to take a walk on a
sidewalk,” Cook said.
Mayor Paul Elkins said it's
something to consider, though
funding is an obstacle.
“That would be food for
thought if and when funding
becomes available,” Elkins
said.
Though Hull might not
have the funds, money might
be available through other
sources.
Sidewalks along Glenn
Carrie are apart of the Madison
Athens-Clarke Oglethorpe
Regional Transportation
Study (MACORTS), Cook
said.
Those plans call for the con
struction of sidewalks on both
sides of Glenn Carrie running
south from the intersection of
Hwy. 29 to the intersection of
Hwy. 72.
Cook spoke to an official
with the county road depart
ment who said that office
is seeking funds through
MACORTS for the sidewalk
project.
According to the council
man, if money isn’t available
through MACORTS, county
SPLOST money could be
applied.
“He expressed to me that
if they’re not able to get a
grant through MACORTS,
they would use their SPLOST
monies, and whatever other
funds that can get, to build the
sidewalks,” Cook said.
Cook said the city should
get an answer in the next 60
days.
Elkins said sidewalks would
benefit the large elderly con
tingent in the city.
“There’s a lot of oldsters
living there on Glenn Carrie
that could possibly utilize that
for exercise purposes if noth
ing else,” Elkins said.
Elkins asked city attorney
Pat Graham to investigate the
legal requirements to obtain
rights of way.
In other business, the
council continues to ponder
improvements to its city hall
complex, but there’s not an
abundance of funding avail
able for projects.
Elkins recently met with
a Regional Development
Center (RDC) official who
said that carpeting the build
ing and upgrading the bath
room are the only projects the
RDC could possibly fund.
“He is going to give us a dol
lar amount that we’re going to
play with,” Elkins said.
However, the mayor has yet
to hear back from the RDC.
Cook added that he’s inves
tigating possible GEMA
funding for improvement
projects.
“I’m still out there, seeing
what all we can get to remod
el the city hall,” he said.
In a separate matter,
Cook told the council that a
Neighborhood Watch group
for Hidden Falls subdivi
sion — one of the city’s
largest developments — will
hold meetings at the recep
tion room at Heaven Bound
Ministries, which is adjacent
to the neighborhood.
Hull leaders disturbed by ‘Hwy. 72 Autobahn’
Assessors .cont’dfrom 1A
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
remove the assessors without a
judge’s ruling to back it up.
“We contend that the actual
removal itself cannot occur
solely by action of this board.”
said Leverett. “It must be a
Superior Court Judge.”
Leverett said the assessor
board remains in office at least
until the court hearing, and
thus can’t be barred from per
forming its dudes.
“The board members can
not be instructed not to come
to those offices (the appraisal
department) or to perform
dudes that they have,” said
Leverett.
Ragland said he doesn’t
believe there is compelling
evidence to remove the asses
sors.
“This digest seems to be the
hinge upon which this door is
hung,” said Ragland. “We are
not perfect; we are as human
as you are. Our hands have
been somewhat tied in the fact
that the previous chief apprais
er was under contract with the
board of commissioners. He
did not come under our man
agement.”
Ragland said that the
appraisal staff has been
shorthanded and given more
responsibilities by the tax com
missioner’s office. He noted
that the BOC cut the salary
for the chief appraiser from
$65,000 to $55,000 last year,
then increased it to $75,000
shortly before taking the chief
appraiser’s search from the
BOA’s hands.
“We worked diligently to
find you gendemen, and the
taxpayers, and the board of
assessors, a chief appraiser,”
said Ragland. “... I’d like you
to know that there’s no ill will
from me. I’m sorry that it has
come to this.”
Stewart said he didn’t feel
anything he could do or say
would change the minds of the
commissioners.
“We have been accused of
various charges,” said Stewart.
“None of them true. All we
are guilty of is trying to do the
best job possible and find the
best people for our office and
do what is right for the people
of Madison County.”
Stewart said he has always
“gone above the call of duty”
to uphold state law as an asses
sor. He said he has known
most of the commissioners for
years.
“I find it hard to believe that
you would really believe in
your heart that I have done
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otherwise,” said Stewart. “Yet,
I stand accused. Therefore,
my response is simple and
stiaightforward. I deny any and
all charges against me and ask
for a right.. .to appear before
a Superior Court judge with
counsel of my choosing pro
vided by Madison County...”
After Ragland and Stewart
spoke, Commissioner Bruce
Scogin made the motion to
move forward with the termi
nation of the assessors.
“I’d just like to echo the
sentiment of this board,” said
Scogin. “I regret that it’s come
to this.”
Commissioner John Pethel
said he was disappointed with
the assessors.
“I also would say that I’m
very sorry that it has come to
this and in reading this letter,
that each one has prepared, I
am thoroughly disappointed in
some of the remarks that they
made concerning the board of
commissioners,” said Pethel.
“When the condition in the
board of assessors is what it is.
I’m just terribly disappointed
in the BOA that they would
make that kind of comment.”
Drivers aren’t obeying
the 45 mph speed limit on
Hull’s main thoroughfare,
the city’s mayor said.
"We have legally named
Hwy. 72 “The Hwy. 72
Autobahn,” mayor Paul
Elkins said, “because of
the excessive speed that
is displayed by too many
motorists.”
That’s partly due an
absence of speed limit
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signs, which were removed
by the state DOT when
the highway was widened
to four lanes earlier this
decade.
The city has requested
those 45 mph speed limit
signs be returned.
“Now, I’m not going to
sit here and tell you that
I expect people to do 45
mph, because that ain’t
going to happen," Elkins
said. “But if we can slow
them down a little bit ...
because somebody is going
to get hurt out there.”
Elkins commended the
Madison County Sheriff’s
Office for slowing speed
ers on Glenn Carrie Road,
a connector between Hwy.
72 and Hwy. 29.
Several have been tick
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average speed on that road
substantially.
"They have done a
superb job over there ...
The speed limit has prob
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