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JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION JULY 7, 2014 7:00 P.M. The purpose of the meeting was to prepare the agenda for the July meeting. It was held at the Jefferson County Commissioners Office. Those present were as follows: Mitchell McGraw, Chairman; Gonice Davis, Member; Tommy New, Member; Johnny Davis, Member; Wayne Davis, Member; Adam Mestres, County Administrator; Dalton Dowdy, County Attorney; and Bonnie Wells, County Clerk. Chairman McGraw called meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner New gave the invocation. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to amend the agenda by adding to NEW BUSINESS item g Use of County Building – Substance Abuse Counseling; item h Jefferson County Forestry; and remove Personnel from EXECUTIVE SESSION. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to adopt the agenda. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS Tax Assessor Board Appointment Chairman McGraw stated Mr. Russell (Rusty) Logue agreed to serve on the Tax Assessor Board. 2016 SPLOST Discussion – Admin The board discussed speculative items for the tentative 2016 SPLOST Referendum. After much discussion the board opted to move forward with the items discussed. NEW BUSINESS Setting Tentative Millage Rate County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented information regarding the tentative millage rate. The current millage rate is 14.739; the projected millage rate is 14.937, an increase of .198 mills. The administrator explained it is a millage increase with a net tax decrease. Commissioner Gonice Davis made a motion to set the millage rate at 14.937. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote passed with a vote of three to two. Chairman McGraw, Commissioners New and Gonice Davis voted yes. Commissioners Johnny Davis and Wayne Davis voted no. SHIPS For Youth Request for Funding The board reviewed a previously adopted (September 12, 2012) MOU between SHIPS For Youth and the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners. As part of the monetary agreement in the aforementioned MOU the board loaned SHIPS, as requested, $8,928.05. This loan was executed September 21, 2012; as of July 2014 the funds had not been reimbursed. SHIPS For Youth Director, Chester Johnson, was present at the current meeting to request additional funding in the amount of $12,000. After much discussion, Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to deny SHIPS For Youth’s request for additional funding. The motion died for lack of a second. Veterans Exemption Tax Refund Request for Jessie Kitchens N. McGraw Tax Commissioner, Nancy McGraw, made a written request on behalf of Mrs. Sharon Kitchens, the widow of Vietnam Veteran, Mr. Jessie Kitchens; the request can be found below. ---PAGE BREAK--- After reviewing the letter from the tax commissioner and other documents provided by Mrs. Kitchens; Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to approve the veteran’s exemption tax refund for Mr. Jessie Kitchens, via Mrs. Sharon Kitchens for the sum of $1,753.99. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Tax Software Vendor Change Request – N. McGraw County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented information on new tax software for the tax commissioner’s office. The current companies are Harris Computer Systems, Inc. and Capital Data Service, Inc. One company manages the hardware and the other handles the software. The tax commissioner presented the cost from Harris, the current company and Manatron, the company they wish to convert to. Once the change is done there will be an annual savings of $9,411.49. The cost of each system and the savings is reflected in the table shown here. The recommendation from the tax commissioner and the county administrator is to switch from Harris computer Systems, Inc. to Thomson Reuteus, Inc. formerly known as Manatron, Inc. Commissioner New made a motion to accept the recommendation from the county administrator and the tax commissioner. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Request for County to Conduct Nov. Louisville City Election – Admin County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented a request from the City of Louisville for the Board of Elections to conduct the City’s special election. The three items listed on the city’s ballot for the special election are as follows: (Referendum to allow Sales of Distilled Spirits by The Drink; Referendum to Allow Package Sales on Sundays by Retailers of Package Malt Beverages and Wine; Election to Impose a County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax). Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to allow the Board of Elections to conduct the City of Louisville’s November election. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Gonice Davis asked the county attorney if the aforementioned request was legal. Mr. Dowdy explained the governmental bodies would enter into an agreement consenting to the board of elections conducting the election. Commissioner New stated if the county was conducting the city’s elections, would that not prevent the county as a whole from voting on those items. County Administrator, Adam Mestres, explained the voting machines are electronic and it would already be in the system and when the voter presented his/her card the ballot would automatically load for that individual no matter where they lived in the county. Their individual ballot would load depending on their district. The vote was unanimous. Referendum Questions Beer/Wine/Spirits – Discussion – D. Dowdy County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, presented information on the referendum for Sunday alcohol sales. The board will move forward with this referendum. Use of County Building for Substance Abuse Counseling – Chairman Chairman McGraw presented information on a request from Brad West to utilize one of the county’s buildings for substance abuse counseling. It is Mr. West’s wish to implement substance abuse counseling on Thursday nights from 5p.m. to 7 p.m. Commissioner New made a motion to allow Mr. West the use of the Forestry building. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Georgia Forestry Commissioner New informed the board the state abolished the part time secretary’s position at the local forestry unit. There will no longer be a secretary at the office; if a call is made to the local office it will be re-directed to Macon. Scheduled Public Comments There were no scheduled public comments. ---PAGE BREAK--- Public Comments on Agenda Items John Peebles made comments regarding a new cell at the landfill, sewer lines, and developing the north end of the county. Adjournment Commissioner New made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. JEFFERSON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING JULY 15, 2014 7:00 P.M. This was the regular scheduled meeting for the month of July. It was held at the Jefferson County Commissioners Office. Those present were as follows: Mitchell McGraw, Chairman; Gonice Davis, Member; Tommy New, Member; Johnny Davis, Member; Wayne Davis, Member; Adam Mestres, County Administrator; Dalton Dowdy, County Attorney; and Bonnie Wells, County Clerk. Chairman McGraw called meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Commissioner Gonice Davis gave the invocation. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to amend the agenda by adding the Introduction of the New Hospital Administrator as item b and Abandoned Housing Ordinance as item c under NEW BUSINESS; removing Jim Anderson from reports; and tabling Personnel under EXECUTIVE SESSION. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to adopt the agenda. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Commissioner New made a motion to adopt the minutes. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Chairman McGraw gave the chairman’s report; County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented the administrator’s report; Carl Wagster gave the ambulance report; and Jimmy Kitchens gave code enforcement/building department report. During the administrator’s report Mr. Mestres stated he received a letter from EPD regarding Mr. Jimmy Kitchens the code enforcement officer/building inspector and his assistant, Mrs. Sandy Walden for help received from them with an issue within the county. Commissioner Wayne Davis suggested the commendation be placed in both their personnel files. Consent Agenda The Consent Agenda items were as follows: Motion to approve the veterans’ exemption/tax refund request for Jessie Kitchens in the amount of $1,753.99 Motion to approve the tax software vendor change request Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to adopt the Consent Agenda items. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS 2016 SPLOST Resolution – Admin Commissioner New made a motion to approve the 2016 SPLOST Resolution. Commissioner Wayne Davis seconded. County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, suggested the motion be amended to provide for county attorney and the secretary of state’s approval. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to amend Commissioner’s New motion and approve the 2016 SPLOST Resolution pending county attorney and secretary of state office approval. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Setting Tentative Millage Rate – Admin County Administrator, Adam Mestres, presented information on the tentative millage rate increase. The current rate is 14.739; the rate with the projected increase will be 14.937. The administrator explained this will cause a 9% decrease in the amount of taxes collected; with a projected collection amount of $615,000 less next year. Commissioner New made a motion to accept the tentative millage rate of 14.937. Commissioner Gonice Davis seconded the motion. The motion passed with a vote of three to one. Chairman McGraw, Commissioners Gonice Davis and New voting yes. Commissioner Wayne Davis voted no. Commissioner Johnny Davis was not in attendance at that time. ---PAGE BREAK--- SHIPS For Youth Request for Funding – Chester Johnson Chester Johnson, Director of SHIPS for Youth, presented a request for additional funding for the SHIPS program referencing the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between Jefferson County and the SHIPS Organization shown below: Commissioner Johnny Davis arrives at this time. The organization had initially requested and received $8,930 from the Jefferson County Commissioners in September of 2012, but never repaid the loan. After much discussion, Commissioner Wayne Davis offers a motion in favor of SHIPS for Youth paying back the $8,930 they previously borrowed from the county before additional funds are granted. The motion dies for lack of a second. Commissioner Johnny Davis made a motion to table the item, form a committee to sit down with Mr. Johnson, come up with a plan of action and present it back to the board. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote passed with a vote of four to one. Chairman McGraw, Commissioners New, Gonice Davis, and Johnny Davis voted yes. Commissioner Wayne Davis voted no. Resolution for Beer & Wine for November Election – Admin Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to approve a resolution to allow Sunday sales of beer and wine pending county attorney and secretary of state office approval. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Commissioner Wayne Davis made a motion to approve resolution to allow sales of distilled spirits by the drink pending county attorney and secretary of state office approval. Commissioner New seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Appoint Russell (Rusty) Logue to Tax Assessor Board – Chairman Commissioner New made a motion to accept the Chairman’s appointment of Russell (Rusty) Logue to the Board of Assessors. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Mr. Logue will replace Mr. David Kemp on the board. His term will commence immediately and terminate June 30, 2017. NEW BUSINESS ---PAGE BREAK--- Interim Library Director – Carol Taylor The Interim Director for Jefferson County’s Library System, Carol Taylor, introduced herself to the commission board. New Hospital Director Jefferson Hospital Administrator, James Heitzenrater, was also in attendance and introduced himself to the commission board Abandoned Housing Ordinance – J. Davis Rufus Wren Subdivision Resident, Johnny Davis, addressed the board regarding the Abandoned House Ordinance. The County Attorney, Dalton Dowdy, addressed Mr. Davis’ concerns regarding the abandoned houses in the subdivision. Mr. Dowdy requested a meeting with Mr. Davis after the meeting to further discuss the issue. Scheduled Public Comments There were no scheduled public comments. Public Comments on Agenda Items There were no public comments on agenda items. Chairman McGraw requested the constituents come out and take a look at the new Volvo motor grader; the road department placed the motor grader in the parking lot of the commissioner’s office so the commissioners and tax payers would have an opportunity to see the machine. Adjournment Commissioner New made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Johnny Davis seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.