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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 20. 2023 - PAGE 3A
Region and State News
What to do with
another state budget
surplus behind looming debate
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Hosey named new GBI director
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia taxpayers could
be in for a third round of
income tax cuts next year
now that the state is report
ing another hefty budget
surplus.
But a progressive-lean
ing think tank that keeps a
close eye on Georgia fiscal
policies is arguing the tax
rebates Gov. Brian Kemp
and his fellow Republicans
in the General Assembly
adopted during the last two
legislative sessions came at
the expense of critical gov
ernment services that have
been underfunded since the
Great Recession more than
a decade ago.
The state completed fis
cal 2023 at the end of last
month with a surplus esti
mated at nearly $4.8 bil
lion, not as much black ink
as the $6.6 billion surplus
at the end of the previous
year but still hefty and far
above the revenue estimate
the Georgia Department of
Revenue put out in January.
Kemp and lawmakers
used the last two budget
surpluses to fund state in
come tax cuts of $1 billion
last year and $1.6 billion
in 2021. That translated
into tax rebates of $250 for
single taxpayers in each of
the last two years and $500
for married taxpayers filing
jointly.
Those rebates are the
result of conservative bud
geting by the governor, said
state Sen. Blake Tillery,
R-Vidalia, chairman of
the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
“We’re elected to be good
stewards of other people’s
money,” he said. “That’s
why we are where we are.”
But Danny Kanso, senior
fiscal analyst for the Geor
gia Budget and Policy In
stitute, said the fiscal 2023
surplus represents part of
a three-year pattern of flat
spending that is failing to
meet the needs of Geor
gians in such vital areas as
health care and public edu
cation.
“Despite the massive
amount of cash on hand, our
leaders continue to stand by
as conditions worsen across
state government, with re
cord employee turnover
and understaffing in crit
ical areas such as human
services,” Kanso said. “In
the absence of a strategy to
deploy these funds, a de-
cade-plus of austerity still
looms over state agencies
and core functions of gov
ernment.”
Case in point: When
Kemp signed the $32.4 bil
lion fiscal 2024 state bud
get in May, he vetoed nine
spending line items and
instructed state agencies to
ignore an astounding 134
others. Among the casual
ties was a pay raise of $6 an
hour the General Assembly
had earmarked for direct
care workers serving Geor
gians with intellectual and
developmental disabilities.
The governor and law
makers also slashed the
University System of Geor
gia’s budget by $66 mil
lion, drawing fire from sys
tem Chancellor and former
Gov. Sonny Perdue.
On the other hand, the
spending plan also includ
ed pay raises of $4,000 to
$6,000 for law enforcement
officers and $2,000 increas
es for other state workers,
teachers, and university
system employees.
The budget fully funds
Georgia’s Quality Basic
Education (QBE) k-12 stu
dent funding formula with a
record $13.1 billion in state
dollars and covers 100% of
tuition for Georgia’s HOPE
scholars for the first time
since 2011.
But Kemp said he’s re
luctant to commit the un
expectedly large surplus to
recurring spending on gov
ernment services because
of the uncertain nature of
tax revenues.
Up to a point, Tillery
agreed.
“I’m always going to
be leery of adding to base
budgets when revenues are
unpredictable,” he said.
“We’ve got a piggybank
right now, but we can’t
make next year’s budget
with that. We have to make
it on what’s going to come
in.”
However, Tillery said
some new spending may be
in order.
“Some one-time expens
es we need to invest in,
particularly infrastructure,”
he said. “We don’t have as
many [state] workers any
more. We may have to do
some things from a capital
[spending] standpoint.”
The exact size of the
surplus at this point is
unknown. The state will
release a more complete
accounting this fall that
details actual spending
and total tax collections,
including other sources of
revenue that have not yet
been reported.
Gov. Brian Kemp has pro
moted the head of the Geor
gia Bureau of Investigation’s
Investigative Division to di
rector of the GBI.
Chris Hosey will succeed
former GBI Director Mike
Register on Aug. 1.
“Chris has dedicated his
career to protecting the peo
ple of our state as a proud
member of law enforce
ment,” Kemp said. “With
over 35 years of experience
The Northeast Health
District of the Georgia De
partment of Public Health
recently launched an updated
website to better serve local
residents.
One goal of the website
redesign was to provide eas
ier access for all users. The
revamped website was opti
mized for accessibility using
funding from a health equity
grant and has been redesigned
to meet Web Content Acces
sibility Guidelines (WCAG)
2.1 AA standards. Pages on
the new site feature screen
readers, text alternatives, cap
tions for multimedia content
and an easier-to-navigate lay
out. The new website also has
an improved interface that au
tomatically adjusts to different
device types, making it more
responsive and easier to view
whether using a desktop com
puter, smartphone or tablet.
Users may select a variety
of accessibility tools by click
ing the red circle button that
appears near the bottom right
of all the site’s pages, and the
appearance of the site will
change based on those selec
tions. Available accessibility
profiles include blind, motor
impaired, visually impaired,
at the GBI, he brings a wealth
of institutional knowledge
and skill to this role.”
Hosey began his GBI ca
reer in 1987 as a narcotics
agent with the agency’s Lo
cal Violators Squad. In 2001,
he was promoted to assistant
special agent in charge of a
multijurisdictional drag task
force.
In 2012, Hosey moved up
in the organization again.
As an inspector, he was in
charge of various drug opera
tions and the GBI’s Training
color blind, dyslexia, cogni
tive and learning, seizure and
epileptic and ADHD. More
settings can be adjusted with
in the accessibility settings
panel, including font size and
style, background color and
contrast settings.
The District’s website can
also be viewed in multiple
languages now. Users can
select from a menu at the top
of any of the site’s pages and
change to one of 12 languag
es, including English, Span
ish, Arabic, Chinese, French,
Hindi, Hmong, Korean,
Myanmar, Russian, Ukrainian
and Vietnamese.
An interactive map is fea
tured on the homepage of the
new website, allowing users
to click on a given county for
quick access to clinic and of
fice addresses, telephone num
bers and hours of operation.
Another feature on the updat
ed website is a district-wide
calendar. Users can click the
Events tab in the top menu bar
of any page to locate events
in the 10-county area where
the Northeast Health District
will be providing communi
ty-based health services such
as diaper giveaways, back-
to-school vaccine clinics and
Unit. Three years ago, he
became deputy director of
investigations.
Hosey received a bach
elor’s degree in sociology
from Georgia Southwestern
State University and a mas
ter’s degree in public ad
ministration from Columbus
State University. He also is a
graduate of the FBI National
Academy.
Register is leaving the GBI
at the end of the month to be
come Cobb County’s direc
tor of public safety.
mobile COVID-19 vacci
nation clinics, WIC farmers
markets, HIV testing and car
seat safety and breastfeeding
support classes. The calendar
can be filtered by county and
event type.
The refreshed website con
nects local residents to a vari
ety of individual and commu
nity health services, including
immunizations for children
and adults, birth control and
family planning, a supple
mental food and nutrition
education program for preg
nant women, new parents and
children (WIC), screenings
for breast and cervical cancer,
blood pressure monitoring
and treatment, health educa
tion and testing and treatment
for sexually transmitted in
fections, HIV and tuberculo
sis - as well as restaurant and
septic system inspections and
more.
The Northeast Health Dis
trict serves Banow, Clarke,
Elbert, Greene, Jackson.
Madison, Morgan, Oconee,
Oglethorpe and Walton coun
ties.
To view the updated web
site and learn more about
available services, visit https://
northeasthealthdistrict.org/
Northeast Health District debuts
website updated for accessibility
City of Comer General Municipal Election 2023
The City of Comer will hold a General Municipal Election on
Tuesday, November 7, 2023. The following offices are sched
uled for election:
Mayor
Incumbent: Jimmy Yarbrough
Term of Office: 4 Years
Council District 2
Incumbent: Ron Farren
Term of Office: 4 Years
Council District 3
Incumbent: Vacant
Term of Office: 4 Years
Candidates for Mayor must be at least 18 years of age, must
be a resident of Comer and a registered voter. Candidates for
Council must be at least 18 years of age, must be a resident of
Comer, and a registered voter for the district for which they
qualify. Qualifying will begin on Monday, August 21, 2023
at 8:30 AM and will close on Friday, August 25, 2023 at 4:30
PM at the Comer City Hall at 70 Hwy 72 E, Comer, Georgia,
from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM each day. Section 21-2-131 (a)(1)
(A) of the State of Georgia Municipal Election Code requires
a qualifying fee of $60.00 for Mayoral candidates and $45.00
for Council candidates.
Early voting will be held October 16, 2023 through Novem
ber 3,2023 at the Madison County Board of Elections Office
located at 20 Albany Ave, Danielsville, Georgia. Absentee
ballots will be available at the same location beginning Mon
day, October 16, 2023. The polls will be open on Election
Day, November 7,2023, at the Comer Travel Museum at 1984
Center St, Comer, Georgia, from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
Electorates who wish to vote in the November 7, 2023 City of
Comer General Municipal Election must be registered on or
before October 10, 2023.
Questions should be directed to Donna Hawks, City of Comer
Elections Superintendent, at (706) 783-4552.
HARRIS DOOR
AND MILLWORK
A Family Atmosphere Work Environment in Pendergrass, GA
Now Hiring for Certified
Fork Lift Operators
Average wage $950.00 paid weekly
Monday - Friday 6 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Closed Saturday and Sunday
• Full Benefits Package
• Health Insurance
(Starts within 30 days or less)
• Dental and Vision
(Starts within 30 days or less)
• Matching 40IK (Starts Day 1)
• 3 weeks paid vacation
(Accrual Starts Day 1)
• Long Term Disability Insurance
(Company Paid)
• Short Term Disability Insurance
(Company Paid)
• 1 hour lunch break and
two 15 minute breaks per day
(5786 Hwy. 129 N, Suite A)
Pendergrass, GA
Call 706-693-0060 (Jennifer)
or email HR@harrisdm.com