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Budget
THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JUNE 29. 2017 — PAGE 3A
Commissioners grapple
to limit tax increase
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
FULCHER RECOGNIZED FOR LAW
ENFORCEMENT SERVICE
AT BOC MEETING
Sheriff Michael Moore presented officer Rita Ful
cher with a plaque recognizing her 40 years of
service in law enforcement, many of those years
with Madison County, at the Board of Commission
ers meeting Monday night. Fulcher plans to retire
next month. She has been with the Madison Coun
ty Sheriff’s Office since 2007, most recently serv
ing as the CHAMPS officer, working with students
in county schools. Before becoming an officer, Ful
cher was a dispatcher with Madison County E-911.
“It has been a real pleasure,” Fulcher said. “Thank
you for your wonderful community.” She said she
plans to stay home for a little while now and enjoy
more time with her family, who joined her at the
BOC meeting.
It's pretty much inevitable
that a sizable tax increase will
be required to balance the
county budget for the upcom
ing year.
The board of commission
ers held another work session
Tuesday morning to discuss
the budget and other issues,
but it was the budget, more
specifically the $1.5 million
budget shortfall, that dominat
ed the discussion.
Madison County has avoid
ed property tax increases for
many years, even providing
millage rollbacks to offset
property values, in the process
burning reserve funds to make
up the difference between
what was budgeted and what
was actually spent.
New commissioner Tripp
Strickland told District 5
Commissioner Jim Escoe
and District 4 Commissioner
John Pethel, who have served
on the board the longest, that
they and former commission
ers did what they thought was
right at the time.
“During these years (post
2008) people were hurting,”
Strickland said.
Escoe agreed that people
were hurting, but said the
BOC should not have rolled
back the millage. “It probably
amounted to about $12 extra
for most families,” he said.
The state recommends that
counties Madison County’s
size have two to three months
of operating budget in reserves
for emergencies such as a nat
ural disasters or a government
shutdown, something the
county had just a few years
ago.
This year, new Chairman
John Scarborough said
reserves are virtually non-ex
istent.
Since 2011, the county
has steadily pulled money
from reserves each year. In
2011, the amount pulled was
$379,000; last year over $1
million was required to cover
the deficit.
“That would address why
we currently have no fund
balance,” Scarborough said.
Finance Department
Director Kathy Clark came up
with “four scenarios” for how
the board might proceed.
Those scenarios ranged
from keeping the status quo
with the mill rate remaining at
14.266, to increasing it up to
two mills.
With increased property
values, the mill rate will rise
10.2 percent this year, from
$608,000 per mill to an esti
mated $670,000.
The status quo option would
give the county increased rev
enue of $655,000 to work
with, well short of the amount
needed.
“We are looking at a 2.4
mill increase to cover the bud
get, as projected right now. for
2018,” Scarborough said. “If
cuts are made, the mills can
go down.”
Scarborough said he wanted
to present the figures, which
included a tax history back to
2005, so the board could be
thinking about it.
“It’s not going to be fixed
in one, two, maybe even three
years,” he added.
Scarborough also asked the
board to continue to think
about things that could be cut
in 2018.
“You can modify it. even
though it has been made pub
lic; we have not voted on it
and were not voting on it
today,” he said.
Escoe spoke up immediate
ly saying he wanted the two
extra employees requested
for the tax assessor’s office,
as well as an extra investiga
tor for the District Attorney’s
office “gone.”
The investigator’s salary
would be $47,132 and the
two positions in the assessor’s
office total $70,001 in salaries.
Escoe said the DA was
doing a good job, but was
getting no cooperation from
the court system.
Commissioner Theresa
Bettis argued that that was no
reason to deny the much-need
ed position.
“The DA is so overwhelmed
as it is and he (Parks White)
can’t be responsible for what
the judges do,” she said.
And Scarborough remind
ed Escoe that the DA is the
counterpart to the public
defender, who they granted
a budget increase to just the
night before (from $88,000 to
$111,000).
Commissioner John Pethel’s
concerns were mostly with the
EMS department.
Pethel said the EMS direc
tor’s salary was set at $50,248.
but at the June 12 meeting,
he said they were presented
a new copy of the budget
and his salary had jumped to
$57,350.
“The BOC did not vote on
that.” he said. “It’s common
sense that you don’t give a
$7,000 increase to one per
son.”
Pethel went on to say that
previous director Jason Lewis
had “ten times the experience
the one we have now does.”
“We need to wipe that off.”
he continued.
Scarborough pointed out
that Lewis left the county
because of the salary and he
said previous county chair
man Anthony Dove and the
current EMS director Bobby
Smith had worked out a deal
for him to have at least as
much of a salary as he did as
a paramedic, adding that it
is typical for a paramedic to
make more than the director
because of the shifts he works.
‘To give an increase like
that when we have a $1.5 mil
lion shortfall is just absurd,”
Pethel insisted.
Scarborough said he did not
give the increase, so he was
not going to agree to just “take
it off.”
He said he would, howev
er, inform Smith if the board
decided to decrease his salary,
but that such an action might
cause him to also leave.
“If he don’t like the job he
can leave.” Pethel said. “We
never voted to increase it.”
Exasperated, Scarborough
asked Pethel if he thought
$7,000 would have any real
impact on the budget shortfall.
“Yes, one dollar affects it.”
Pethel replied.
Pethel said the county’s
budget problems began with
a $300,000 to $400,000 short
fall, which went up to $1.2
million last year.
“And we keep spending
like we’re living in a country
club,” he said, adding that he
didn’t understand how it got
be this way.
Scarborough said he could
provide the answer.
“When is the last time
Madison County addressed the
millage rate?” Scarborough
asked. “If you don’t address
it all along, you’ll address it at
some point. Previous boards
covered it (shortfall) through
reserves, well we have no
reserve now. And what you
refer to as living like in a
‘country club’ I call the cost
of doing business. And now
we have choices, and those
choices are to cut services or
cover it through taxes.”
He went on to say that the
county had used $5 million in
reserves in the last six years.
“The budget didn’t increase,
but the expenses did,” he said.
Escoe pointed out that
everybody’s taxes went down
a little every year in the last
few years, even as property
values nationwide have been
increasing for the last five
years.
Pethel returned the conver
sation to the EMS department.
“I know ya’ll think I am
picking on the EMS, but EMS
is very important, they saved
my life a few years ago in
2015 and I am very grate
ful to them for that,” he said,
but he went on to point out
that just a few years ago the
county had only one station
in Danielsville to serve the
county, but now there are four,
costing about $150,000 per
station per year to operate. He
said he wasn’t advocating that
they close any stations.
Commissioner Lee Allen
pointed out that some coun
ties had privatized their EMS
services, but that he couldn’t
understand how a for-profit
business could do better than a
government entity, which only
needed to break even to cover
expenses.
Paul Simmons, a mem
ber of the small audience in
attendance, spoke up. “What
ya’ll are doing here is peanuts,
compared to the school tax,
which makes up at least 60
percent of the tax bill,” he said.
The discussion returned to
EMS services, and the fact
that Oglethorpe County has
only one station.
“And they use Life Flight for
so many people,” Scarborough
said, pointing out that this also
adds to costs. “It all comes
down to what kind of service
you want to provide.”
Bettis interjected at that
point. “We are a rural county
and our First Responders and
EMS response time is excel
lent,” she said.
Commissioner Escoe
asked when the board might
expect to see the tax digest
and Scarborough told him it
all depended on how many
appeals there were.
He said 480 appeals is
the threshold to hold up the
tax digest; if it exceeds that,
Scarborough said they could
not expect to see the digest for
some time.
And he commended tax
commissioner Lamar Dalton,
saying he was doing every
thing he could to move delin
quent property back onto the
digest, noting that 96 percent
of taxes had been collected for
2016, and above 99 percent
for the two years prior to that.
“Whatever budget you do
pass, you need to make sure
to cover that and not rely on
a shortfall,” Scarborough cau
tioned the board at the end of
the budget portion of the work
session. He also reminded
them that they must plan and
put money aside for capital
funding and leave it there.
2018 LMIG
projects
Chairman Scarborough
said the Department of
Transportation informed
the county that they would
receive $729,215 in LMIG
(Local Maintenance and
Improvement Grant) funds
for local road improve
ments. The county is required
to match 30 percent of that
($219,000).
For perspective on costs,
Scarborough told them that
paving Buford Carey Road
last year cost them $100,000
per mile.
He said the road depart
ment is currently doing traffic
counts on various roads for
volume estimates.
He said road department
head Alan Lapsinski gave him
a list of roads by level of
disrepair. The roads on that
list are: Clements Road, Irvin
Kirk Road, Poca Road, Beck
Road, Norwood Road and
Rogers Mill Road.
He also identified five
non-county roads (one from
each district) that the county
might consider adopting as a
county road. Those roads are:
Stapler Road, Wesley Chapel
Drive, Hickory Hills Road,
Hope Drive and South Creek
Drive.
Scarborough also said there
is a “very, very important rea
son” to consider abandoning
current county roads that are
not being used.
He explained that devel
opers could buy land around
the road, subdivide it and
the county by law would be
required to maintain it.
“So it might be a time to
consider putting some off as
well as putting some on,” he
said.
Scarborough said he
receives a lot of calls about
private road maintenance and
that people are upset when he
explains that it is illegal for the
county to maintain a private
road. “They are upset because
it has been done in the past,”
he said.
VFD SPLOST
ADVANCES
Scarborough explained that
a measure had been put in
place previously to allow vol
unteer fire departments and
rescue services to apply for
an advance on up to 60 per
cent of their portion of pro
jected funds for the current
SPLOST. which is at the mid
way point (it will end in June,
2020).
He said those percentages
have had to be adjusted since
the actual collections have
been considerably lower than
the projections. He said sever
al VFDs have been advanced
more than their adjusted 60
percent share, and others
have not collected anything
in advance. He said there is
$550,000 collectively left to
be collected over the next three
years, but until the SPLOST
money comes in. any advanc
es have to come out of the
general fund. All fire depart
ments have been notified of
the new percent adjustments
and some of them have made
open records requests to see
what other departments are
getting. Scarborough said all
of the fire departments must
account for any SPLOST
funds spent.
Scarborough said if the
board agrees, he plans to tell
them the county will honor
the contract, but that unless
there is a pressing need, they
are asking them to please hold
off until the SPLOST funds
actually come in.
News briefs
Tire Amnesty
Event ahead
A “Tire Amnesty Event”
will be held June 28-30
at the Madison County
Transfer Station from 8
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.
“Take advantage of this
great opportunity funded
by a state of Georgia grant
through Keep Madison
County Beautiful,” said
organizers.
Madison County citizens
will be allowed to bring up
to six tires for recycling at
no charge. Fees apply for
more than six tires.
Here are the rules: no
retail/wholesale vendors
allowed; tires must be
secured to vehicle; no solid
rubber tires (ex. Bobcat) or
rubber tracks; farm tractor
tires must be less than four
feet tall and less than 18
inches wide; citizens are
responsible for unloading
tires; a vehicle tag number
will be required.
For more information,
call 706-795-5151 or see
the scale house attendant.
Board of
Elections to
meet July 11
The July monthly meet
ing of the Madison Coun
ty Board of Elections and
Registration will be held
Tuesday, July 11, at 5:30
p.m. in the Madison Coun
ty Board of Elections and
Registration office at 94
Spring Lake Dr. Daniels
ville.
Rec dept,
is now
completely
tobacco free
The Madison County
Board of Commissioners
recently voted to make all
facilities that are under the
jurisdiction of the Madison
County Recreation Depart
ment completely tobacco
and smoke-free.
This includes all ciga
rettes and cigars, smoke
less tobacco and e-ciga
rettes from being used on
any park area, including
the parking lots, which
were previously exempt.
Park and facilities where
this new policy is in effect
are Sammy Haggard Park,
Brewer Phillips Sports
Complex, Diamond Hill
Softball Park and Mize
Park.
Signs are posted at all
entrances and gates stating
the new policy.
Tax office to
have new hours
The Madison County
Tax Commissioner’s Office
hours will change beginning
July 1 to 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday.
CLOSED FOR
INDEPENDENCE DAY
The Government Complex will be
closed on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 in
observance of INDEPENDENCE
DAY.
10% OFF ANY SERVICE REPAIR!!
MUST MENTION AND PRESENT COUPON TO RECEIVE DISCOUNT.
ONE COUPON PER CUSTOMER, CANNOT COMBINE COUPONS.
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SERVICE COMPANY
HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING • COMMERCIAL FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT
COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION AND ICE MACHINES
706-614-5029
GA REG: CR108819 • STATE LICENSED AND INSURED
DRAKE
GAS CO.
drakegas.com
Rebates for Propane Appliances
Service
You Can Depend On!
Free Tank Install
with gas purchase
Royston (706) 245-6111
Commerce (706) 335-6111 Elberton (706) 283-6111
Lexington (706)743-5414 Hartwell (706)376-6111
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Cook