Brantley County October 2012 Meeting

The meeting was called to order and the floor was opened for public participation. Dorothy Bolan from Central Avenue presented the board with a request representing over 50 senior citizens that the Commission adopt a resolution that be turned into local legislation exempting all senior homestead property owners from paying School Board Property taxes. This would not include commercial properties or non-homestead properties. Raymond Russell addressed the board after her asking the Commission for support of her proposal and that they please keep the seniors in mind as they look at fees and taxes.

The Commission started by approving the minutes of the September 2011 Commission meeting.
The County auditors gave their presentation of the 2010 Audit. A summary of major expenditures and revenues was reviewed with any deviations explained. The primary topic of discussion when comparing 2009 to 2010 was the line of credit. In 2009 the Commission had a line of credit to borrow funds to operate with which totaled over $3 million dollars. In 2010 the County took out a LOC that was a fraction of that amount and only used $250,000 that was repaid before the end of the year with 2010 dollars. This was a huge accomplishment for the leadership team. The auditors review opportunities for additional internal controls that could help make the process even more accountable. There were not significant deviations or issues in the Commission accounts. The Commission passed the audit with flying colors.

The Commissioners approved the Tax Commissioner moving one person from full time to part time. The Tax Commissioner has the money in the budget to fund the position through the end of the year and the full time head count is budgeted in the 2012 budget. The Tax Commissioner’s office is in dire need of more assistance with increased traffic and increased collection efforts under way on past due taxes for real and personal property. Hats off to Tax Commissioner Mrs. Pat Tompkins and her team for a job well done.

The Commission reviewed a recommendation by Tax Assessor Board Chair Mr. Billy Lee and his counterparts to reappoint Stephanie Watkins to the Tax Assessor Board for another term.

The County Manager, Parrish Barwick gave the Commission an update on several projects. The intense rain that has been badly needed to relieve the drought is causing some issues with roads around the County. The road crews are responding to calls and working to make repairs. The paving of Buster Walker has been slowed because of the rain but should be completed in a few weeks. The vendor portion of the boat ramp construction is complete. The County will plant some grass, level some dirt and work on the access road to the boat ramp once the rain damage is repaired on the main roads around the County. The grant for the Waynesville Nature Trail/Recreation facility has been awarded and we are waiting on the permits and the final paperwork. Work on that can start as soon as the approval comes from the State and County resources available. The recreation update showed that over 80 children are participating in soccer, 105 in cheerleading and 185 in football. There was some confusion with the football and the decision to not use the new fields for this season. Where the new fields were irrigated, the stand of grass was insufficient to play football out there this year. Soccer is much easier on the turf so soccer is being played at the new facility.

The Commission voted to create a Grant Funds line item in the General Government department to track grant funds in and out of the budget. Some of the line items in the audit discussion had revenues that were above budget and expenses that were above budgeted amounts because of grant funds and expenses that flowed through the regular budget. Having this revenue and expense item will help separate those less predictable funds from the annual budget.

The Commission approved trading in the 1994 Caterpillar front end loader for a new model. There is a significant maintenance event needed on the near 18 year old tractor. Several prices were received from the usual suppliers. The best deal offered the County was a Caterpillar trade in. They offered $22,000 in trade leaving, $107,000 to lease at a cost of $1900 per month. The first payment is due in 12 months and those funds are budgeted in the 2012 operating budget for the road department under capital expenses.

The Commission voted to ratify the previously set millage for the unincorporated area at 20.34, the incorporated at 22.56, each fire district at 1.25 mills and the State millage at 0.25. The Commission also voted to accept the Board of Education’s millage of 18.53. The Commission has no alternative but to approve the BOE millage, as this is purely a ministerial review of the millage as defined by State law. The School Superintendent indirectly provided this code section to the Commission via previous meetings.

The subject of Caney Bay Bridge was discussed in an open meeting. One property owner is not willing to sell or donate their property for the badly needed road repair project. After reviewing alternatives of how the County could build a cheaper bridge with local funds that wouldn’t require the 0.348 acres from the property owner, the Commission voted unanimously to have the attorney use any and all means necessary to acquire the property and move forward with the State bridge project as designed by DOT ASAP. This was not something that any Commissioner wanted to do, but all felt that the greater good would be served in this manner.

The route for the Raybon Road East road widening and paving project was discussed next. One Commissioner had asked Commissioners to discuss not taking the path from Raybon East, to Gilman to Smyrna Church Road. Instead the ommissioner proposed to take the full and direct path for Raybon East so that the pavement matches with Knox Road. The Commission approved this change and instructed the County manager to have the survey and deign groups change the scope of this project to reflect the Board wishes.

Raybon Road East

Chief Henry Edwards of the Waynesville Volunteer Fire Department came before the Board asking that the WVFD be allowed to use $6,000 of previous year’s funds to manage expenses for this year. Each fire tax district has an independent checking account as tax money collected for a fire tax district cannot be used for another fire district. So in years where they have been frugal, it leaves funds in the bank which are carried forward as a surplus. In this case these surplus funds were added to the budget. The Commission unanimously approved the measure.

One Commissioner asked to discuss Buffalo Creek Road. The lines on the road are very hard to see at night especially if it is raining. The Commissioners discussed that the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds that are allocated to the County by the State every year were designated by the Commission last year for primary resurfacing on 3 roads as ranked by the DOT inspection team. These were (in order of need) Trudie Road, the portion of Browntown Road that was not resurfaced in the last paving and Buffalo Creek Road. All three of these projects are being let by GaDOT at this time. They will be completed in the spring and summer of 2012, if not before. For this reason it wouldn’t make sense to restripe Buffalo Creek Road. The County Manager was asked to get with GaDOT and get a time line for completion on each road.

The Commission also approved a proclamation making November 6th Retired Educators Day. Counties all over the State are passing similar resolutions to honor the many educators that mentored so many of today’s leaders, business men and women and others.

The Commission approved a tax write off for the property owned by the County Commission for $235 for the boat ramp property. Since the County owns the property there should not have been a bill produced.

The County next discussed the issue of senior homestead exemption from Board of Education property taxes. The Chairman had provided an analysis some weeks ago for the Commission to review of how different versions of this exemption could be handled based on his research with other counties. He likewise provided a potential view at the impact of the local legislation on the collection efforts for the BOE, should the Commission choose to enact this. He explained that in discussions weeks ago with Senator William Ligon and representative Chad Nimmer, they both explained that they stand ready to take up any local legislation adopted by the County Commission. Since the majority of property taxes are paid by corporation and larger land owners, this exemption would not cause a significant collection issue for the BOE. The Commission asked the attorney to review the authority that the Commission had to enact such local legislation, provide some alternatives based on what other counties are doing and to have this distributed to the Commissioners before the November work session. No action can be taken until the general assembly comes into session in Atlanta in January. So the Commission will work to decide on a path forward in November and December. Should they approve a draft, it will be ready for consideration in January 2012.

After the executive session for personnel and legal matters, the Commission approved a motion to have the County attorney notify Larry Cohen’s attorney that his claim had been reviewed and would not be accepted.

Ronald E. “Ron” Ham
Chairman – Brantley County Commission

Commissioners and members of the Southern Regional Commission were in attendance in September to receive a grant check for $467,179 for the construction of a new Public Health - Mental Health facility to be constructed in the area adjacent to the Department of Family and Children Services and Head Start facility behind the Heritage Bank and Jerry J's Family Restaurant in Nahunta. The application for the grant was filed over a year ago and the process began. Since that time the Southern Regional Commission has worked with Brantley County and the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) in Atlanta to walk the grant through the process. County Manager Parrish Barwick, County Clerk Dale Halligan and the staff have worked diligently to provide all the necessary documentation and back material to work toward this wonderful day.

The Commission and staff have worked diligently to bring more grant funds to Brantley County by leveraging the United States Department of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Community Affairs (GaDCA), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other agencies to provide funding for new ambulances, police cars, road construction equipment, boat ramps, public health facilities and much more.

Hats off to the team at Brantley County for a job well done!

County Commissioners Training

County Commissioners attended state mandatory training in Atlanta this week and have the opportunity to meet with legislative subcommittee members and Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) staff members to review the legislative priorities for counties representing a united front to the legislators. The process of defining this platform takes thousands of hours from commissioners all over Georgia that serve on a variety of committees on items from tax matters to environmental matters to public health and safety. The central message throughout all platform statements is that there is no "one size fits all" for Georgia counties. What works for Dekalb and Tift and Lowndes does not necessarily work for Charlton, Brantley or even Glynn.

The real blessing is that by coming together as one body through ACCG, the counties have a unified voice at the capital and have a far greater impact on legislation that determines each counties future.