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The www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com NOVEMBER 12, 2009 Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006 Vol. 24 No. 46 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 30 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements TAXES CITY GOVT The Property Tax Picture Gn-rt Eatitj MIILip- n «l- ■EOHIH Dll* MCKC.UMki HHl MC IDE KM MCDIituki Mfr MriOJL Sti Cirkii LI fitvl If Ci nr 4.J U ■ ■ ivd 2008 Phi ■ ijHMX f.l'P.'P- I.ii L7H ith ■is Milan, KjI* 2000 □krai Xn U.LM WH ii.IB PWP ■ P1#H ■ EM ■KTi j"ihjDC ■ IIJIUBd JK hie j ■ r.4 A ■mow mu ±» uuisu WII.K4 as ■ II JB.T7I HKiaa jj fctUTiiK Wn IE mm -i'Jl: ft j KjI 1 ." KU3 KfVlV\Nl m i20,-il-i£24 —SZ2B.919 —Mfc. ) r r.-^.|h.f r i—^>7■ -J l-Mi-J KjJ. '■k “7 i.'jm 11 ■ "7' “ Local officials cut back on taxes, but homeowners to feel pinch from state By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com If you complain to local officials about this year’s tax bill, it’s likely they’ll point west toward the Gold Dome in Atlanta. Property taxes are going up for homeowners. That’s despite the fact that Madison County governing boards pinched pennies and will take in less in property tax revenue collectively this year than last. The catch? Well, individual property assessments can always fluc tuate, leading to increases for certain properties. But the across-the-board expense that will get everyone in 2009 is the state government’s elimi nation of the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Grant this year, which will add about $240 to every homeowner’s bill in the county. Collectively, property tax revenues in Madison County will be down slightly from $20,643,545 in 2008 to $20,414,628 in 2009, a 1.1 percent reduction in total taxes of $228,917. That includes all tax revenue collected by the county government, the schools, the cities and the industrial authority. Only two governing enti ties in the county, the indus trial authority and the city of Danielsville, will see any rev enue increases, with the IDA taking in $3,029 (.004 percent) more in taxes and Danielsville receiving $1,514 (2.99 per cent) more in revenue. Meanwhile, the county gov ernment, the schools and the cities of Carlton, Colbert, Comer and Ila will all cut back on tax money collected in 2009 (see chart). The county school system will again issue a bond rate to help cover the debt retirement for the construction of Danielsville Elementary School in 1993. The school board has eliminated the bond tax whenever sales tax funds have been available to cover the debt payment. INSIDE Artist market set for Sat. Over 30 local artists will sell their hand made works at the courthouse square Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Page 3A Index: News — 1-3A Opinions — 4-5A Crime — 6A Schools — 8A, 11 A, 3B Churches —9A Obituaries —10A Classifieds —6-8B Socials —7A Sports — 1-2B Legals —1-10C Contact: Phone: 706-795-2567 Fax: 706-795-2765 Mail: P.O. Box 658, Danielsville, GA, 30633 Web: MadisonJoumalTODAY. com PERFORMING ARTS The MCHS band took 13 th place in the USSBANational Championship last week. That followed a first-place finish Oct. 24 at the USSBA Southern States Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn. MCHS band wins regional event, takes trip to nationals By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com T he Madison County High School Band took a char ter bus to Annapolis, Maryland, last week. Along the way, they visited historical sites in Washington, D.C. They rented out a laser tag facility, testing their aim on the run. But the aim of the three-day trip up north was to show off another skill — their chops as a marching band. The MCHS band took 13 th place in the USSBA National Championship last week. That followed a first- place finish Oct. 24 at the USSBA Southern States Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn., where the band topped schools from Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. “The Southern States Championship, that was a huge deal for us,” said second-year MCHS band director Nick Golding. “You could see the pride they (the band) had when they carried that champi onship banner off the field.” On the bus ride back from Chattanooga, Golding spoke with assistant Freshman Academy princi pal George Bullock, who has a child in the band. “We were talking and I said, ‘if we won this, we could probably qualify for nationals,”’ said Golding. “Would it be too much to try to get into that? Am I being overly ambi tious here? And he was like, ‘why not?’” But arranging a trip to Maryland for 50-something kids in a week and a half is no easy task. Plus, there was — See “Band” on 2A Changing of the guard A look at the trio of new mayors set to take office in D’ville, Comer, Colbert By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com When local city councils are sworn in in January 2010, three new mayors will have their right hands raised. Last week’s municipal elections produced a trio of new heads of Madison County cities whose terms will start after the new year. In Danielsville, Philip Croya defeated 12-year mayor Glenn Cross, while David McMickle beat eight-year incumbent Billy Burroughs in Comer. Meanwhile, in an uncontested election, Colbert councilman Chris Peck will fill the shoes of one of the county’s most well-known political fixtures, John Waggoner, who’s stepping down after 40 years as mayor of Colbert. Danielsville in ‘bad financial state’ Philip Croya takes over a Danielsville city government still reeling financially from a theft scan dal last year. The city had to furlough its employees 24 days just to balance the budget this year. “Danielsville is in a bad financial state and the council and I look for ward to trying to help it get where it’s not in a negative balance,” Croya said. Croya said he wants to get the city “back on its feet” and gen erate enough revenue to end the furloughs. Though it might be a long process, Danielsville must get back in the black with its finances, — See “Mayors” on 2A ECONOMY Free and reduced lunches on the rise at county schools INSIDE: Madison Co. may lean toward charter school system in next decade, Page 3A By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com Over 2,700 students in the Madison County School System are applying for free and reduced lunches as that number continues to rise in an ailing economy. “We’ve always had a fairly high free and reduced lunch rate, but it’s getting extremely high in some areas,” Madison County Schools Superintendent Mitch McGhee said. At 72 percent, Hull-Sanford has the highest concentration of students needing free and reduced lunches. Meanwhile, this is the first time that 50 percent of the student body at Madison County High School is seeking free and reduced lunches. The other rates are as follows: Ila Elementary, 54 percent: Comer Elementary, 56 percent; Colbert Elementary, 60 percent; Danielsville Elementary, 60 percent; and Madison County Middle School, 56 percent. “And a lot of this is new applica tions,” McGhee said. “Folks have lost their jobs ... It’s not so much people moving in. It’s current folks that are in need.” McGhee said there’s usually an inverse relation regarding free and reduced lunch rates and student achievement. The higher one is, the lower the other tends to be. “That has not been the case here in Madison County,” McGhee said. “And that’s a credit to the teachers in the schools. Our free and reduced rates are going up, we have less resources from the state, less fund ing from the state, yet our teachers are really doing a great job.” HEEPING HANDS Annual motorcycle ride raises money for holiday presents By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com The more bikers that decent upon Madison County come November, the fuller stockings will be for needy kids come Christmas. “Toy Ride,” an annual motorcycle ride slated for Nov. 21 at Madison County Memorial Park, returns with its mission to buy holiday gifts for local children of less fortunate families. Started six years ago, last year’s event raised over $1,000 for pres ents. “With the times the way they are, — See ‘Toys” on 2A Phillip Power, Comer, gets ready to crank up his motor cycle and ride for a good cause at the 2008 Toy Ride. How to help: For more information on how you can help a needy child enjoy Christmas, call David Patton at 706-296-4598 or Dwayne Patton at 706-795-6281.