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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. AUGUST 4. 2016 — PAGE 3A
Madison Co. receives workers’
compensation check from ACCG
Madison County recently received a check for $50,279
from the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
The money is the county’s share of a $5 million one-time
special return from the ACCG — Group Self Insurance
Workers’ Compensation Fund.
Each year, premiums are collected from the membership
and the workers' compensation benefits are paid to the
injured workers. While some injuries are minor and benefits
are paid quickly, benefits for more serious injuries may be
paid over the course of 10 or more years. The portion of the
premium that is not immediately needed results as invest
ment income to the program.
ACCG is Georgia’s county association and works on
behalf of county officials and their communities by pro
viding public policy and legislative advocacy, leadership
development, civic and community initiatives, insurance
and retirement programs that specialize in local government
needs and other cost-saving programs.
BOC
continued from page 1A
ROAD NAMED FOR FORMER SHERIFF FORTSON
The road from Hwy. 98 to the county sheriff’s office has been named for former
Sheriff Jack Darrell Fortson. Pictured (L-R) are Roger Fortson, newly elected sher
iff Michael Moore, BOC chairman Anthony Dove, Jack Fortson, Brandon Fortson
and Keith Fortson.
Attorney general still reviewing
charge against distsrict attorney
A charge against Northern Judicial Circuit
District Attorney Parks White is still being
reviewed by the state attorney general’s office.
And a spokesperson for that office said this week
there’s no timetable on when the matter might
be resolved.
“The matter is pending in our office and we
have no further comment at this time,’’ said
Nicholas Genesi, spokesperson for the Georgia
Attorney General’s office.
White, Northern Judicial Circuit District
Attorney, who prosecutes cases in Madison
and surrounding counties, including Hart, vol
untarily turned himself in to the Hart County
Sheriff’s Office. A felony warrant was executed
for his arrest over a campaign advertising issue.
The warrant accused him of violating a law that
prevents someone from using the badge and/or
emblem of a police department in any adver
tisement without the "written permission of the
local governing authority.’’
The matter began when Danielsville attor
ney Lane Fitzpatrick published an ad in The
Journal prior to the May 24 primary stating
that DA White committed a felony in using a
badge, emblem and photo of the Hartwell Police
Department without Hartwell city council’s per
mission. Fitzpatrick also filed a complaint on
behalf of Hartwell resident Liz Parsons seeking
White’s arrest.
“Georgia Law states that no one can display
the badge and emblem of a police department
in any advertisement without the written per
mission from the local governing authority,’’
stated the ad paid for by Fitzpatrick in the May
12 edition of The Madison County Journal.
“The Hartwell City Council did not approve his
advertisement. District Attorney Parks White’s
violation of the law is a felony.”
White said at the time that the request for his
arrest was “nothing more than an election-week
publicity stunt,” and that his campaign got per
mission for the ad from the Hartwell chief of
police and the mayor. White defeated challenger
Richard Campbell in the May primary and has
no Democratic opposition in November.
“I believe in the (courts) system and I look
forward to being exonerated of this baseless
charge,” White said by phone after his arrest. “I
have no further comment other than that.”
Probate court releases July stats
The Madison County
Probate Court released the
following statistics for July:
•Probate cases filed: 23
•Traffic cases: 282
•Marriage Licenses
issued: 21
Weapons carry license
applications received: 86
•Vital records issued: 137
•Total money collected:
$49,349.50
gains from increases due
to increased property val
ues. The state mandates that
keeping the tax rate steady
while property values rise
must be accompanied with
three public hearings and
advertisements of a “tax
increase,” since actual tax
revenues will rise, despite a
stable tax rate.
This annual commitment
to rolling back the tax rate
and avoiding the advertised
“tax increase” has exacerbat
ed the revenue shortfall gap.
“If you’d left it the same,
you’d probably be OK,”
Dove told commissioners
Thursday, referencing the
annual tax rate rollbacks.
The BOC will break the
trend this year, instead of
rolling it back to offset
property value increases.
That will raise more reve
nues than last year and will
require three public hearings
before approval. Those hear
ings will be held in the com
missioners’ meeting room:
Aug. 18 at 9:30 a.m., Aug.
18 at 4 p.m. and Aug. 29 at
6 p.m.
The board has faced rev
enue shortfalls for years
and has repeatedly dipped
into cash reserves to cover
expenses. Several years ago,
Madison County had an
approximate $5 million in
cash reserves. That number
has dwindled as the board
has rolled back the tax rate
each year, while facing
annual increases in expens
es.
“I think we should face the
music a little bit,” said com
missioner Theresa Bettis.
“The citizens know we’ve
been in a budget shortfall for
this year.”
County clerk Rhonda
Fortson said the cost of a
one-mill increase on a
$125,000 house would be
about $50 a year.
Commissioner Jim Escoe
said it's at least time to stop
rolling the mill rate back and
chipping into needed rev
enues.
“We need to just stop that
and let last year be the last
year that happens,” said
Escoe. “I’ve been saying
that for six years....But
holding it the same is one
thing. Increasing it is some
thing else. But if we do an
increase, let’s do what it
takes to do what we need.”
Escoe said a two-mill
increase wouldn’t complete
ly cover the shortfall but he
said it would be close. He
said he doesn't favor increas
ing the tax rate this year, but
he said the commissioners
should “publicize the fact
that, this is it, folks, we’ve
gone as far as we can go.”
“Let people have a whole
year to know,” he said.
Escoe said the county’s
long-time reserve fund came
from a sharp spike in prop
erty values several years
ago under a former chief
appraiser who used a “mul
tiplier” that shouldn’t have
been used.
“We had a property value
increase of $120 million
that year,” said Escoe. “A
lot of people came in mad
as hell. It was a $160 mil
lion increase (in value) and
he reduced it $40 million.
That's where the $5 million
fund balance came in.”
Escoe suggested the board
hold the tax rate steady
and see if property values
increase next year.
“Let’s hold this (the tax
rate) and see if we have an
increase in value in houses,”
said Escoe. “And let’s see
what digest next year looks
like with the plant coming
in. If they (assessors) do
their job, we’ll have a digest
increase next year.”
Bettis said she partly
agreed with Escoe,
“I like your thinking, but
I feel like we need to be
a little bit proactive with
this deficit,” said Bettis. “I
would suggest a one mill
(increase).”
Commissioner John Pethel
said he gave commissioners
a sheet of paper two years
ago with 10 suggestions.
“We wouldn’t be going
through this if we had start
ed two years ago doing what
we should have done,” said
Pethel. “Instead of increas
ing so much and trying to
grow like Gwinnett County
and Clarke County and other
counties, and staying within
our budget, we wouldn’t be
in this situation. But my sug
gestions were rejected.”
Pethel said he didn’t favor
keeping the tax rate steady or
a rate increase, but favored
continuing the rollback.
“I disagree with the budget
entirely,” said Pethel.
County commissioner
Stanley Thomas said the
county needs to know what
cuts Pethel would make.
“Because people have got
ten accustomed to what they
have here,” said Thomas.
“It’s easy to compare to
other counties, but where are
those cuts that will make that
much difference? Are peo
ple going to be more upset
about cutting out a program
or a service they get or more
upset about $50 or $100
more on their tax bill? If you
take things away that they’re
used to, they’re not going
to be happy about that. If
you raise taxes, they’re not
going to be happy about that.
Somewhere there has to be a
happy medium where you
make it work as good as
possible.”
He said people would be
upset if commissioners, for
instance, decided to shut
down the library for part of
the week or reduce operating
hours of the transfer station.
“People have gotten used
to the services and I'm proud
of things we have in the
county,” said Thomas. “Of
course, it costs money.”
He praised the recreation
department, the library,
senior center, EMS, Fine
Finish.
“I think I’d rather pay $50
more or $100 more on my
tax bill than to start taking
those things away,” he said.
Pethel said he worked 28
years for a company and the
company made cuts when
needed.
“About four times the
money that got spent got to
be more than money taken
in, and we’d have meetings
and they’d give us a paper
and say, 'This is what it's
going to take, you take this
back to your people and tell
them this is what it is,”' said
Pethel. “If there’s 20 people
laid off in that department,
if they’re unhappy, then
so be it. We’ve got to look
after the business. And that’s
what they were looking at.
They’re not going to say
they’re going to be unhappy,
we can’t do that.”
Thomas said there's no
comparison between a pri
vate business and govern
ment.
"Because you could vote
your boss out if he came
in and said something you
didn’t like,” said Thomas,
noting that he won’t be in
office next year. “But the
people up here making
decisions are accountable
to those people...You just
have to decide what services
you’re going to give and
what you’re going to have in
your county.”
Pethel said he wants the
taxpayers to be the focus.
"There are a lot of people
struggling to pay their taxes
and we’re sitting here talking
about increasing it two mills
and making no adjustments
whatsoever and adding on
and adding on,” said Pethel.
"It’s very unpleasant.”
Escoe said there's been a
lot of property not on the
digest and that if property is
assessed right over the next
year, a tax rate increase may
not be needed.
Bettis said she understands
that people are struggling,
adding that a tax increase
may, for instance, mean one
less trip out to eat per month.
“Maybe we have to sac
rifice here or there to have
services and to give our
employees a cost-of-living
raise,” said Bettis. “That’s
what it boils down to.”
In other matters, the board
also discussed the upcom
ing overhaul in 2017 of the
county’s comprehensive
land use plan, which sets
overall guidelines on growth
and land use in the county.
"We need the land use
plan updated,” said Thomas.
"There's too much uncer
tainty. We need to be more
clear and have better direc
tion on where we're going.
Things have changed in the
10 years since we addressed
it.”
Dove noted that special
purpose local option sales
tax (SPLOST) revenues
are up slightly. SPLOST
collections for July 2015
were $153,929 and up to
$168,572 for July of this
year.
Athens Regional Medical Center now offers the most advanced
minimally invasive robotic surgery system, the da Vinci Xi.
Smaller incision. Fewer stitches. Quicker recovery.