“Over half of our real estate people are gone; all of our developers are gone, for the most part; half of our builders are gone; surveyors, like me, are hanging on by our teeth, yet the library wants a raise.”

It’s that time of year again! It’s time for Fannin County to begin budget talks. Commission Chair Bill Simonds said that he and the board have worked hard on the 2012 budget. Their efforts, he said, prevented a millage increase this year, meaning property owners have avoided a tax hike, something which other county’s have been unable to accomplish. Despite this, though, last night’s budget discussion sparked a flurry of fireworks from the community.

After adopting the Parks and Recreation Ordinance at last night’s meeting, the Board of Commissioners started its budget workshop. The workshop was a precursor to the first public hearing on the budget, slated for early September. Simonds said he’s been a popular guy in the past few days, referring to various funding requests in light of the proposed budget. One such request came from the County Library, located on the bottom floor of the courthouse.

During the public commentary part of the meeting, Library Board of Trustees Chair Joe Webb argued for an increase in county funds to the library. Webb said that the main reason for the request is to extend the hours of operation of the library, noting that due to the library’s limited hours Fannin County residents are driving to Union County to use its library. He also noted that the library is widely used and needed during the week. Webb rattled off a round of statistics to make his case.

“We literally had 76,000 people come through the library last year for services; we checked out 80,000 books; we checked out almost 40,000 pieces of media; we are an extremely, highly used organization,”

he said. According to Webb, the library has not had an increase in the last three years—the current year will be the fourth– and the library is only asking for a $1000 a month increase.

Resident Lane Bishop, however, opposed the increase. He said he did not oppose the increase because he was against the library. In fact, he said that he has brought his children to the library and enjoys the services it provides. But, he argued that the county has other financial concerns right now.

“Over half of our real estate people are gone; all of our developers are gone, for the most part; half of our builders are gone; surveyors, like me, are hanging on by our teeth, yet the library wants a raise.”

Bishop suggested organizing fundraising events and donations, so the library would

“quit badgering the county for money.”

Fannin County Library Board Member and President of the Regional Library Board Keith Jones countered Bishop’s position, clarifying the situation. Jones said that the library

“can’t operate legally under the laws of the state of Georgia on money that’s contributed to the things we are needing this particular money for…It has to come from a funding agency,”

which in this case, is the county. Taxpayer and library patron Sherry Boland supported the increase, calling for an increase in pay and health coverage for library employees. Boland said that the library had to upgrade its services and expand the activities for the community.

At the end of the meeting, Chairman Simonds responded to the comments about the budget.

“Joe just said that he hasn’t been funded in four years. Well, guess what? Your millage rate on your property hasn’t gone up in four years,”

he said. Simonds explained that due to an increase in fuel and asphalt prices, the county has to make some changes and

“everybody’s not going to get what they want.”

In the face of fiscal challenges, the chairman said that the county will hold the 2012 budget within a few thousand dollars of the 2011 budget. The first official public hearing will be held in early September and if last night’s meeting is any indication of things to come, expect to see more heated discussions in the future.

“Were going to hurt some folks feelings.” Chairman Bill Simonds 2012 Budget talks. from Fetch on Vimeo.