Commissioners approve FY21 Financial Report

Board of Commissioners
BOC approve alarm ordinance

FANNIN COUNTY, Ga. — The Fannin County Board of Commissioners approved the 2021 fiscal year audit and budget adjustments and the final draft of Fannin County’s Annual Financial Report during their latest meeting.

Chairman Jamie Hensley briefly explained the financial report and audit, emphasizing notable portions.
He first explained that the budget adjustments were mostly made up of salary changes, specifically noting a 3% salary increase and ARPA compensation that was given to county employees.

Hensley then explained that uncertainty from the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020 led to the “flat” budget for the fiscal year of 2021. He noted that the county made a conservative estimate of revenues, accounting only for property taxes. Despite that, Hensley said the county received more than anticipated: “The general fund increased in fund balance by a little over six million dollars.”

Commissioner Johnny Scearce, who attended the meeting online, said he was “very happy with it.”
“We don’t know what tomorrow is, it’s kind of an uncertain time. So it’s good to have a little cushion,” Commissioner Glenn Patterson followed. He also mentioned two upcoming projects for the county, referring to two recent agreements between the Fannin County Board of Commissioners and other governmental bodies. One will bring a free-standing library to the county, and the other will create an improved recreation center for both county and city residents. Patterson called the projects “good things for Fannin County,” adding, “and we need some funds to make that happen.”

The only other action item on the board’s agenda was the approval of a variance request. The commissioners approved the request, from Fred Glennon and Helen Johnstone, made to place a garage on property off of Highland Gap Road. During the public commentary portion of the meeting, the commissioners also heard from county residents about development and traffic concerns. Expressing the board’s interest in responding to growth in the county, Chairman Hensley told one commentator: “Whether anybody likes it or not, change is inevitable. It’s going to happen. It’s how we manage it.” He continued, “We’re fairly young in our seats. We’re trying to find those answers as quickly as possible.”

Governor Kemp signs 2023 budget at UNG

News

FANNIN COUNTY, Ga. – Members of the state legislature, local governments, Governor Brian Kemp, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives David Ralston, and many others joined in celebration at the campus of the University of North Georgia today as the governor signed Georgia’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget.

budget

Speaker of Georgia’s House of Representatives, David Ralston speaks at the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Signing Ceremony at the University of North Georgia on May 12, 2022.

Called a “historic budget” by several speakers, the day saw specific highlights and history for Fannin County and North Georgia. Alongside restorations of austerities for teachers and over $218 million for a cost of living adjustment for full-time employees in the University System of Georgia, this budget holds $2.6 million in funding for Fannin County’s standalone library and $13 million in funding for an expansion of the Blue Ridge campus of the University of North Georgia. This combines with an additional $2 million in the amended Fiscal Year 2022 budget for a total of $15 million to expand the Blue Ridge campus.

These major projects coming specifically to Fannin will see gains along all of the counties along the Highway 515 corridor as the large majority of students who attend the University of North Georgia come from those counties according to Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Campus of UNG, Sandy Ott.

Speaker of the House, David Ralston stated that it was difficult to find support and funding for these projects. Though, he noted that it wasn’t a matter of a number of different projects, but of the amount the state is committing to support these projects. Ralston said he is happy with the work they did on including these in the budget and also for the opportunity to hold the signing ceremony in his home of Fannin stating, “I think it says a lot about Fannin County. It’s for the county, it has nothing to do with me. I just couldn’t be more proud. The whole state is here today. The whole state is looking at us today and it’s a good place to be.”

budget

The University of North Georgia’s Blue Ridge campus hosted Governor Brian Kemp and numerous members of the state legislature as he signed the Fiscal Year 2023 that committed $13 million to an expansion of the campus.

UNG President Bonita Jacobs also addressed how important this budget is for the University of North Georgia’s capabilities. The said the expansion project will allow better access. Jacobs noted that one capacity increase will be for more community events as she said, “I feel very strongly that the campus needs to be very tied into the community and very welcoming to the community. Right now we’re so tight for space. But we’ll have an auditorium, we’ll have an outdoor amphitheater that we can host or the city can come in and work with us and be available.”

Tied into the community has been a key phrase in the evolution of the University of North Georgia in Blue Ridge. With the groundbreaking ceremony of the current campus having only occurred in 2018 when Ralston helped secure $5.5 million for the new Blue Ridge Campus in the 2019 fiscal year budget. Now the state is committing to aid in the expansion of that same campus. Jacobs noted one of the areas that will be aided by the expansion includes medical courses. She stated, “We will be able to add more labs and expand our nursing program and to create much needed nurses for this regions.”

Governor Kemp also asserted the importance of education, health, and the care for citizens both physically and mentally as he spoke about the budget. Kemp stated, “This budget improves both the quality and access to education across the board. Between the amended budget I signed earlier and this one, we are investing more per K through 12 student than ever before in the history of our state.”

budget

Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan praised this year’s budget and the UNG campus as a step towards initiatives for Georgia leading the nation into it’s future.

Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor, Geoff Duncan also praised both the budget and the investments into education like the UNG expansion saying, “I am certainly, personally, grateful for the effort and focus in this year’s budget on a couple of those initiatives that we have worked hard on in the Senate over the last few years. One is, I want to chase this dream of being the technology capital of the east coast. Certainly, a facility like this allows us to take on that and educate the 21st century global economy right here.

Kemp said after the ceremony that he has pushed for ways to aid Georgians in fighting the inflation and economic stress of the current presidency. Kemp stated, “What we’ve done at the state level, in conjunction with the Speaker, the Lt. Governor, and the Legislature, is try to give Georgians the ability to fight through 40-year high Biden inflation that we’re seeing right now because of bad policies.” Kemp noted the additional tax return money, cutting the fuel tax, and waiving some limits on trucks to help with supply chain issues as just a few of those efforts.

Left to right, Governor Brian Kemp, Executive Director of UNG’s Blue Ridge Campus Sandy Ott, and First Lady of Georgia Marty Kemp celebrate the completion of the budget signing ceremony that UNG’s Blue Ridge campus hosted on May 12, 2022.

Alongside these statewide effects and reach of the signing ceremony for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, the “historic day for Fannin County,” as Ralston called it, represents a commitment to the county for improving education at all levels, through the university expansion and support for the library in the city of Blue Ridge. Ralstion’s support for the expansion of the campus comes not only as a representative of the district in Georgia, but as an alumnus of the University of North Georgia.

The sentiment of the historic nature of the day for Fannin was echoed by many of the college’s representatives including Sandy Ott who said, “We are so thankful for Speaker Ralston’s support of this campus and University to allow us the opportunity to have this impact locally. Speaker Ralston is a tremendous supporter and his support is going to make a difference for students and their families in the community for years.”

Blue Ridge City Council meets for the last time before elections

Business, City Council
Blue Ridge City Council

FANNIN, Ga. — The Blue Ridge City Council held their last meeting before elections take place Nov. 2. At the meeting, the council dealt with several issues including city finances, infrastructure, and water management.

2022 Budget

Mayor Whitener announced the budget for 2022 is set at $3,157,500, a large decrease from last year. She explains, “that was due to the extra funding we received from GDOT and we received the FEMA money.” The budget was unanimously approved.

 2nd Reading of Ordinance BR2021-14

BR2021-14 deals with the city’s purchasing policy. During the meeting, Fitts raised concerns about accountability with tax payer money, even suggesting that Mayor Whitener does not always follow the purchasing policies. Questions raised about the transparency of the policy led the council to table the approval.

Ordinance BR2020-09 on Storm Water Management

Tony Byrd spoke to the council to suggest enhancing the current storm water management ordinance. He brought the council an example ordinance from Chamblee, Ga., and the Georgia Stormwater Maintenance Manual, both of which he advocates for incorporating into the city’s own ordinance: “I would love for the lawyer to take this ordinance here and go over it with council … and have one made for our city.” The council made a motion to table it, to let the city look over the ordinances with engineers.

State Fiscal Recovery Fund Application

Utilities Director Rebecca Harkins explained the importance of the potential grant money: “The city has an opportunity to receive up to 50% matching that grant application.” She noted that the grant can only be used for water and sewer infrastructure. Harkins then explained that the Mountain Tops Subdivision constituted 15%, or 22 million gallons, of 2020 city water loss. For that reason, she suggested using the grant money to repair the area’s water infrastructure. The council agreed that applying was a “no-brainer” and unanimously approved it.

Millage Rate

The council unanimously approved Ordinance BR2021-15, which Mayor Whitener explained is: “an ordinance to the ad valorem tax rate for the city of Blue Ridge, for the calendar year of 2021 and the fiscal year of 2022; to provide for the time of the payment of said taxes; to provide for interest and penalties for the failure to pay taxes; is the procedure for the collection of delinquent or ad valorem taxes; to provide an administrative procedure for the collection of delinquent taxes ad valorem taxes for the years prior to 2021; to repeal conflicting ordinances to the extent of the conflict, and any other purposes.” This ordinance also sets Blue Ridge’s millage rate at 5.014, which Mayor Whitener notes is a reduced rate.

Public Comment

Richard Arnold, a candidate for the Post 4 seat on city council, attended the meeting and spoke during the public comment section. He addressed the council, “I was pleased when this council voted on and approved … resolution BR2020-29 requesting the Georgia General Assembly to adopt a local act amending the Blue Ridge City Council charter to provide a city manager form of government.” He then asked the council if they would be resubmitting it. Council member Nathan Fitts told Arnold he does support the change, and hopes the council resubmits the resolution. Council member Ronda Haight also provided her input saying, “I think what Speaker Ralston wants us to do is have another town hall meeting about it. So we were proposing to have one in November, and then maybe submit it right after that.”

The council also took time to discuss changing how the council hears public comments. The council discussed among themselves, and even asked the audience what they would like to see. Members of the council decided to table any changes until next month, so they can discuss changes further.

Fannin financial report on target through September 2020

News
financial report

BLUE RIDGE, Ga – In a quick meeting, the board of commissioners reviewed the financial report through September 2020 and held the first lodging ordinance public hearing.

Fannin’s currently 75 percent into the 2020 budget with some departments showing overages. The Fire Department is over $33,590 due to lease payments. The number will continue to decrease as the year progresses.

The Sheriff’s Office is $54,389 over and the detention center is $4,249 over because of salaries, uniforms, and capital outlay projects. These numbers should decrease as the year continues as well.

The largest overage is in risk management. The health claims are up $478,302 and general liability is up $114,903, which is the annual payment. The budgeted amount for health claims was $1,550,000 and to date, $2,028,302 of claims have been turned in. Some county employees had significant health concerns and Fannin had to insure them.

Financial report points of interest

The general liability budget was $300,000 and to date, it is $339,903.

Chairman Stan Helton accepted the blame for the large health cost because he set the budget too low last year.

“We are running significantly over, and quite honestly, the budgeted amount was too low. I’ll take the responsibility for that. We should have been a little more aggressive in what we budgeted for this year,” Helton explained. “Going forward, the budgeted amounts will be more of a stair-step, equal number during the year.”

However, the county moved off the self-insured plan and to a fully insured plan on July 1, 2020. According to Helton, the fully insured plan costs around $200,000 a month. Right now, Fannin is dealing with six months of self-insured and six months of fully insured.

The second payment for the courthouse debt was just paid for the year and after 2021, the building will be completely paid off.

Public work and SPLOST public works budgets are significantly under budget because the county decided to cut back on projects ahead of COVID-19.

LOST and SPLOST collections continue to be up for the year.

LOST and SPLOST collection comparisons.

As of September 2020, Fannin County is operating one percent under budget.

“It’s related to the tourism business,” Helton added. “The revenue and what that does to help the county financially, there’s certainly a big plus on that.”

A statewide error also resulted in misappropriated business funds from 2015 to 2018, which resulted in an additional $700,000 for Fannin County.

Public Hearing

No citizens spoke up during the lodging ordinance public hearing. The second hearing will be held on November 24.

Jode Mull with the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce stated that the increase to six percent wouldn’t affect the percentage that the Chamber receives. The county and chamber split the tax 50/50.

The chamber’s percentage goes toward product development, which can be used to benefit Fannin parks, trails, or improving existing goods.

McCaysville Police Department face major budget cuts

Community, News, Police & Government

 

McCaysville, Ga. – The City of McCaysville Police Department (MPD) recently saw major cuts in the form of lay-offs and overtime elimination. 

The McCaysville City Council voted unanimously on the cuts (with the exception of Larry Collis who has a conflict of interest and must recuse himself from voting on police related matters).

After an executive session, council returned with council member Gilida Carter stating, “We’ve been in here making some very, very difficult decisions,” and adding, “This has been really gut wrenching. We’ve worried about it. We’ve put time in on it, but we are going to have to make some changes.”

McCaysville, Georgia, Fannin County, Police, Budget, City Council, Michael Earley, Gilida Carter, Jason Woody, Billy Brackett, Gary Hollloway

(L) Officer Gary Holloway (R) Captain Billy Brackett

Among the changes made by council were the elimination of the position of Investigator that was held by Captain Billy Brackett, also the elimination of MPD’s most recent full time hire Officer Gary Holloway, and eliminating overtime pay for Chief of Police Michael Earley by moving him to salary.

“We are definitely going to have to cut or the city is not going to have the money to go on over the next year,” Carter said of the motions being passed. “These gentlemen will have the opportunity to apply for unemployment. This is not firing. This is layoffs.”

Earley spoke during the monthly Police Update starting off, “I would like to ask the council why they lied to me?”

According to Earley, council member Collis had assured him two days prior to the meeting that everything was fine with the department.

Collis, who was visibly upset by the events, later in the meeting spoke up saying, “I would make the suggestion that those that voted for this fiasco forfeit their 911 service and show some solidarity.”

Of main concern to Earley is the dangers his officers would face working shifts alone. Earley informed the council that overtime would more than likely be unavoidable: “I’m asking the council, begging the council, don’t let my officers be out there by themselves during the night or during the day.”

“Well with the staff that you had, you had tremendous overtime. Why was that?” Carter questioned Earley.

“Cause calls keep coming in,” Earley answered back.

Earley spoke of the job that police officers do and the dangers of the job, “Police officers are willing to do what most people cannot or will not do on a day to day basis. They put themselves in dangerous situations that could end with them being hurt or even killed.” 

He later likened the council’s move to that of the national political movement to defund the police, “You are creating that animosity that should not exist. You are putting that target on our backs. You are making it unsafe for us to go to work. Is it money? Are we trying to distract and deter for political gain? What is the reason?” 

“For the people out there that are hypocrites, who say you support the police and pat us on the back and then stab us in the back saying we got too many police officers and we need to cut. You should be ashamed of yourself because you know you are doing this for political reasons,” Earley spoke to the council.

Council member Jason Woody replied to Earley’s questioning, “We are not defunding the police department. If we keep going the way that we are going right now, within six months we will not have a General Fund. It will be down to zero.”

Council members stated that every department in the city has cut their budgets and there have also been layoffs in these other departments.

The other departments which include, Administrative, Street Department and Water Department had already cut their budgets, with the Police Department stating that they couldn’t find any cuts to be made and were still requesting an increase.

As of May 22, 2020 the total fund expenditures for the City of McCaysville was estimated to come to $1,413,184.32 with revenues coming of $866,805.17, giving the city a $546,379.15 shortfall. Of these numbers the Police Department expenditures accounted for around 70 percent of the current revenue.

“Right now the money is not there. It’s not been there for awhile,” Woody said of the cuts and the city’s budget, “For every department, as the year progresses we will reassess, we will see what we can do to help alleviate the pressure off these departments.”

The McCaysville Police Department Statistics for the month of June were:

  • 76 – 911 calls
  • 90 – traffic stops
  • 10 – citations
  • 98 – warnings
  • 75 – walk-ins
  • 1 – arrest 
  • 139 – phone calls
McCaysville, Georgia, Fannin County, Police, Budget, City Council, Michael Earley, Gilida Carter, Jason Woody, Billy Brackett, Gary Hollloway

McCaysville Department Budget Overview

 

McCaysville, Georgia, Fannin County, Police, Budget, City Council, Michael Earley, Gilida Carter, Jason Woody, Billy Brackett, Gary Hollloway

McCaysville Police Department Budget 2016 – 2020

 

McCaysville, Georgia, Fannin County, Police, Budget, City Council, Michael Earley, Gilida Carter, Jason Woody, Billy Brackett, Gary Hollloway

McCaysville Administrative Budget 2016 -2020

 

McCaysville, Georgia, Fannin County, Police, Budget, City Council, Michael Earley, Gilida Carter, Jason Woody, Billy Brackett, Gary Hollloway

McCaysville Street Department Budget 2016 -2020

 

McCaysville, Georgia, Fannin County, Police, Budget, City Council, Michael Earley, Gilida Carter, Jason Woody, Billy Brackett, Gary Hollloway

McCaysville Water Department (Water Distribution Only) Budget 2016 -2020

Financial report delivers good news for Fannin County

News
Fannin County

BLUE RIDGE, Ga – The county financial report through May 2020 provided some good news in the era of COVID-19 economic uncertainty.

Overall, Fannin’s revenue was only off by two percent compared to 2019, and SPLOST and LOST collections were slightly ahead of last year. LOST and SPLOST went up around $50,000.

“We were really doing very well up until the mid-point of March when COVID hit, and we had to restrict a lot of tourism in the county,” Helton explained. “From mid-March until the end of April, that period was very bad on revenue, but in May, those numbers are starting to come back.”

Risk management also came in at eight percent under budget – insurance normally goes over budget due to claims.

Public works’ general fund budget was under $129,170, and new SPLOST for public works was under $950,531.

“The public works department been doing a lot of things to try and keep that capital expenditure, and SPLOST expenditure down,” said Chairman Stan Helton.

LOST and SPLOST collections through April 2020.

The county paid half of its debt for 2020, which left three payments before paying off the new courthouse building entirely. The recreation department was $54,534 under budget. The fire department went over because of the lease payments. Sheriff’s office had capital outlay expenses that resulted in an overage, and jail’s overage resulted from inmate medical expenses. However, the overages should go down as the year continues.

The total expenditures dropped eight percent through May 2020.

“That’s good that we are down by eight percent because when you look at the revenue, we anticipated for this year, through May, it’s off two percent – that’s not as bad as we thought it would be at this point,” explained Helton.

All departments previously received instruction to review their expenses and make necessary cuts to prevent shortfalls.

“It’s a very good sign that it’s only off by that percentage. I hope the monies continue to come in, and we stay on the line we’re on now, and hopefully, it will get a little better,” added Post One Earl Johnson.

Most departments appeared under budget almost half-way through the year.

Department Business

Clerk of Superior Court Dana Chastain presented a plan to build an interior wall within her office to allow everyone to conduct business safely. The wall would be in the shape of an “L” and would protect her staff and clients from potential germs. The Clerk’s capital outlay budget would pay for the addition, and it will cost $35,377.

“The way we have always done business is it’s an open concept. explained Chastain. “We’re like a hub to do business, and if we were to shut down, banks couldn’t lend money. They couldn’t get their filings timely.”

Chastain also outlined her current plan to allow attorneys into the office on Fridays and Saturdays. She also sent her staff home on those days to keep them safe, and she would deep clean the area.

Fannin County

Clerk of Superior Court Dana Chastain

“I want the public to know that they have access to anything that’s in my office. All they have to do is request it, and like I said, we have a great staff,” said Chastain.

Another $600 received Commissioner approval to repair the rain damage in the Clerk of Superior Court’s office. Rain leaked through the window and resulted in mold growth.

Road Paving

Public Works Director Zack Ratcliff gained approval to bid out a road paving job for three roads. The county would use LMIG funds from GDOT and a 30 percent match from the county to pay for the work. LMIG would contribute $732,476.14, and the county would pay $219,742.84.

If Fannin doesn’t use the LMIG funds from GDOT, the money disappears, or the county could be required to pay it back.

The three roads are Galloway (3.5miles), Curtis Switch (2.2 miles), and Sugar Creek (1 mile). Curtis Switch and Sugar Creek will receive an extra foot of asphalt to widen the shoulder.

All bids must include a third-party inspector to monitor the work.

Public Works Director Zack Ratcliff

Land Lease Agreement

The commissioners accepted a land lease agreement with Verizon Wireless for the company to build a 250 ft. cell tower. The tower would increase cell service by a 3-mile radius and be located next to the public works department. Fannin collected a $500 signing bonus and $9,000 payments over five years. If renewed after five years, the amount increases by 10 percent.

Commissioners extended the UGA Extension Agent Contract for another year. Fannin pays $7,400 in employee compensation and benefits for the local extension agent.

 

https://youtu.be/YekFO6NsUIA

$10,000 hike in costs to hire detainee road crews

Board of Commissioners, News
property taxes increase non-critical state of emergency 2020 Budget

FANNIN COUNTY, Ga – The cost of hiring detainees to keep Fannin roads clean increased unexpectedly and exponentially from the previous year.

A one-year contract for six to ten detainees from Colwell Detention Center and one detention officer rose by $10,000 from 2019 to 2020. Chairman Stan Helton discovered the increase when it became time to renew for the next year.

“The contract that is expiring is we pay for one detention officer, who supervises and oversees the work that’s being done,” explained Helton. “The payment that we have essentially pays for that employee. Last year, it was $39,000. Well the contract for this year, the sum is a big increase from $39,000 to $49,000.”

The Department of Corrections reported that the reasoning behind the increase is that the organization hadn’t updated its rates in several years. This hike in price was needed to keep up with an officer’s base salary.

“It’s kind of a hard time to get that increase during a pandemic,” stated Post Two Glenn Patterson. “They do a wonderful job. I just hate to have an increase during this time when everyone is kind of hurting.”

The new contract would go into effect in July, and the county doesn’t pay if the team can’t work.

“It’s kind of a steep increase that’s a very big increase. It should have been in an incremental deal, rather than $10,000 increase in a year, said Post One Earl Johnson. “It was a very good deal for the amount of workers we get, but when it becomes $50,000, it becomes a lot less attractive to me.”

Helton assured the board that this rate hike is occurring statewide, and several neighboring commissioners expressed dissatisfaction with the unexpected increase. According to Helton, Colwell Detention Center was unaware of the situation when he contacted them.

The chairman also broke down the costs and said the rate comes out to $2.50 an hour with the 25 percent increase.

“I still personally feel like it’s well worth it,” Helton added.

Johnson was still skeptical about rehiring the detainees because Fannin also must provide transportation, equipment, and associated expenses. He offered that maybe the county should investigate contracting the service out to have “specialized help, rather than supervised help.”

“It’s a great rate, but a lot of times that rate is cheap, but you’re not getting the best labor,” offered Johnson. “I honestly think if everyone would balk on a $10,000 increase in one year, they’d probably meet [us] halfway. That’s solely the reason why I’m not in favor of it.”

“I understand what Commissioner Johnson is saying, but until we look into further contracting that out, prices and things like that. I’d like to have them back,” conceded Patterson. “I feel like it would be a good investment at this time until we found something that would replace what they do.”

Fannin County finally had an opportunity to hire detainees last year once a team became available.

“They’ve been very helpful, very effective with trash pickup, and helping with trimming, weeding areas around the county roadways. Particularly guardrails, we’ve had some places where we had blockages of culverts. These guys have been very effective,” Helton stated.

However, the detainee crew stopped working in March because of COVID-19 pandemic and might not be back on the job until September.

“I spent the first three years trying to get a crew available to us,” Helton explained. “I have to say that I’ve been pleased with what we’ve gotten from this investment with them.”

Helton and Patterson voted in favor of approving the service for another year and Johnson voted against.

In other financial business, the commissioners also approved a bid from J&D Construction for repairs to the Mineral Bluff fire station for $6,500. The building suffered wind damage from the storms in April.

ACCG Insurance Program’s compensation fund issued a $32,958 for the county’s share a cash return for qualifying members. It’s an additional compensation from what Fannin received in the past.

Fannin Schools prepare for State Budget cuts

Community, News, Rebel's Corner

Blue Ridge, Ga. – The Fannin County School System (FCSS) is prepared to “weather the storm” as expectations of State Budget cuts loom over next year’s financials.

“We get a great deal of insight into how we can budget from the legislature and so we’re waiting on that information,” FCSS Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney addressed the district’s finances at the May Board of Education meeting. “One thing that we do know though from the Governor’s Office is there is going to be an across the board 14 percent. How that translates is yet to be seen.” 

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s office has been in contact with several state departments to let them know that budget cuts will be inevitable and there is expected to be a 14 percent cut to all state agencies This cut includes Georgia’s public schools.

The Georgia State Legislature, who sets these budgets, is still in session and have yet to announce a finalization due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Legislators are expected to resume meetings in June of this year.

The lag in legislation makes it difficult for schools to move forward with fiscal year 2021 budgeting, but FCSS is on schedule and planning for what may come.

“That amount is significant for the Fannin County School District,” Gwatney said of the proposed cut to state funds, but added that through conservative decisions in the past, FCSS has a reserve and is in a fortunate situation of being better prepared to “weather this financial storm” than many other districts.

Gwatney also pointed out that Fannin County is a debt free school system which will aid in financial stability for Fiscal Year 2021. 

Board member Lewis Deweese questioned what the budget cuts would affect and specifically questioned its effects on personnel.

“The guidance we have been given is to expect a 14 percent decrease,” FCSS Director of Finance Susan Wynn answered, “It will decrease our revenues in our total operating budget, but we have a very sound reserve so it’s not expected to affect any personnel.” 

Dr. Gwatney added, “I believe there will be an economic recovery. I think it will take time, but our reserve will allow us to get to that point. It’s my intention to protect all people involved with the Fannin County School System. That would include, of course, the students with that reserve, and our personnel with that reserve, and also the community, the taxpayers, with that reserve.”

Fannin County’s monthly financial update given at the meeting showed that the school system is still operating and maintaining a healthy financial status.

Wynn, who was recently awarded for distinction and excellent financial reporting by the Georgia Department of Audits, gave an update with 75 percent of fiscal year 2020 complete.

This update showed that revenues were up and expenditures were down for the district from last year. 

Expenses showed $26,015,727.37 so far for the year. This number represents 70.31 percent of expenditures budgeted. At this time last year, expenditures were at 72 percent.

While SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) did not meet expectations for the month, it was still the highest amount collected for a March, bringing in $445,424.87. This collection showed a 0.033 percent growth over March of 2019 despite the state shutting down for a portion of this time.

Numbers for April and May are being eagerly anticipated as a statewide Shelter In Place was issued and recently lifted. 

“It will be a good indicator of the economy,” Gwatney said of awaiting the SPLOST collection numbers for April and May.

The FCSS will move forward with the budgeting process for Fiscal Year 2021 with tentative dates set in August to adopt a budget and set a millage rate.

Commissioners discuss limiting 2020 spending

Board of Commissioners, News
property taxes increase non-critical state of emergency 2020 Budget

FANNIN COUNTY, Ga – Chairman Stan Helton, Post One Earl Johnson, and Post Two Glenn Patterson were in total agreement about suspending non-critical capital improvement projects for the foreseeable future.

“We know the cost potentially is going to go up potentially for what we have to deal with and most certainly revenue coming in. Our LOST and SPLOST can be impacted,” stated Helton. “For non-critical capital improvement projects, I would recommend that we suspend those until we have a better idea for the next two to three months when we start getting better information on what’s happening with our revenue and how that’s going to impact our budget.”

These projects wouldn’t be canceled just tabled until Fannin County can make an accurate estimate about costs and revenue for the future. Until COVID-19 hit the United States, the county experienced continual growth in LOST and SPLOST collections.

Gov. Kemp extended his shelter in place for medically fragile and senior citizens as well as extended Georgia’s Public Health Emergency until June 12. These actions will also affect county revenue as many individuals are still confirmed to their homes. However, short-term rentals can now book guests. The ban expired on Friday and due to Kemp’s executive order, counties can’t enact legislation to strengthen or lessen the gov’s actions.

“Yes, with all the uncertainty, we just don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” affirmed Patterson. “We do not need to put any more undue stress on the citizens and the system. I think it would be a wise move at this time.”

“I believe we do not need to spend a single dollar that is not necessary at this point,” Johnson stated. “I don’t think we need to spend any money at all that is not necessary. I think it’s a good idea, and I think it’s absolutely critical that we move in that direction right now.”

Helton added that the issues can be addressed one at a time. Before the next commission meeting on May 12, department heads are asked to inform them of any critical spending needs. If an essential project is identified, the commissioners will address it at the May 12 meeting.

“Hopefully when all this nears an end, we can get a better handle on it, but as we move forward just watch every penny that we have,” Johnson said.

As far as 2020 revenue thus far, the first quarter did continue to see overall growth.

SPLOST and LOST collections were up by 10 percent in the first quarter, but with the statewide shutdown and short-term rental ban, the second quarter most likely won’t experience a similar financial boom.

Overall, Fannin was operating four percent under budget from January to March. The total budget for 2020 is $28,563,575, and through March, departments should be 25 percent into their budgets. Some areas were over such as risk management at 27 percent. It includes health insurance, an area that continues to eat up everyone’s budgets as healthcare costs continue to rise.

The courthouse debt payment is also made during the first quarter. The budget expenditure is $1,120,000. The county paid half of the amount already. The second will be made later in the year.

“After this year, that would leave us at $1.1M on the debt of this courthouse, which has been a debt that has been out there for 16 to 17 years. It’ll be a great moment in the county when we get that long-term debt off our financials,” Helton affirmed.

A few other departments were over 25 percent. The fire department made its one-time lease payment for $61,000. EMS turned in extra overtime wages to the amount of $21,000. The detention center was over by one percent, or $14,000, because of pre-bought uniforms and wages, according to Helton. These overages should flatten out as the year progresses.

Johnson reminded department heads to be “very conservative as we possibly can at this moment to make sure that as we creep our way out of this that we can mitigate as much as we can the losses incurred throughout all taxes.”

Unadjusted end of year budget for 2019 under by 4 percent

Board of Commissioners, News
unadjusted budget

BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Robin Gazaway presented the unadjusted budget for 2019, which came in at four percent under.

“This is not final just so everyone knows. There are several adjustments that need to be made. Most everything has been under budget. Risk management was a little over. There’s going to be some more expenses, but there’s going to be some more reimbursements on that,” Gazaway said in her report opening.

Almost every department came in under budget for the year. Recreation went over due to new programs that were approved. EMA came in a little over as well because of the new fire station.

The numbers could change once the adjustments are finished.

The unadjusted budget amounts for 2019.

SPLOST and LOST were up again from past years, continuing a trend for the county. The numbers can be found at the Georgia Dept. of Revenue. For 2019, LOST was $438,348 and SPLOST was $576,079.

Gazaway told Post One Earl Johnson, “New auditors probably won’t come in until May to do the final audit. They are just trying to put us in the rotation.”

Traditionally, Gazaway has waited until the auditors have finished their work before presenting the adjusted budget to the board for a vote.

SPLOST Inconsistencies

Johnson also called attention to discrepancies in Public Works’ old SPLOST and new SPLOST numbers.

“The old SPLOST is $842,030 under on the report,” said Johnson, “so do we have any idea what we spent out of the old SPLOST, is it the $657,970 number?”

Gazaway confirmed the $657,970 was the amount spent. She also thought they had more money in that account and the auditors made an adjustment. The money didn’t disappear; it went into the new SPLOST because of the adjustment.

“Because of the two-month cut-off, I had put money in the old SPLOST when it should have been in the new SPLOST,” explained Gazaway. “So, when we did budgets, I thought we had a little more money in the old. It’s just something I overestimated and told Zack. We kind of went by my numbers.”

https://youtu.be/JzxkcUuKz7o?t=1411

New council shows more transparency in city meeting

Community, News

McCaysville, Ga. – The new year brought in new faces to the McCaysville City Council, and these new members wasted no time stepping away from the status quo of city council meetings. 

Council member Gilita Carter brought pause to the meeting’s proceedings early on when a motion was made to “pay the bills for January”.

“I’ve been coming to a lot of meetings and it always comes up, about paying the bills,” Carter spoke to the Mayor and Council, “Well, I often sit there and wonder, what bills? Whose bills?”

In meetings past, a motion would come to pay the city’s bills for the month, followed by a second, and unanimous approval. There was never given any explanation or break down of what these bills were or an amount to be paid.

Carter, who is assigned to look at city financials, continued, “We (the city) did operate at a loss and we need to look closely at these things and keep track.” She followed this statement by reading a detailed list of the monthly bills to be approved broken down by department.

The department totals for the month were as follows:

  • Administration – $1,633.37
  • Police Department – $17,190.74
  • Court – $519.50
  • Street Department – $1,272.94
  • City Park – $1419.39
  • Water and Sewer – $15,971.69

After completing the list of bills due, Carter questioned, “Have all of these, to this point, been approved? Is there anything on here that had to go before prior approval?”

McCaysville City Clerk Nancy Godfrey clarified the spending process of the city for new council members: “We do have a policy or resolution in place that anything over $500 is supposed to be approved by council.”

“The water department is different. All of those things don’t have to come before the council because they’re chemicals that are required to treat water,” Godfrey explained, but added that there was one item in the department’s bills that was questionable.

No representative from the Water and Sewer Department was present to give insight to council about this item.

McCaysville Chief of Police Michael Earley was present and did explain his department’s bills that had a total over $500.

One of these bills in particular accounted for the bulk of the department’s expenditures for the month. $11,300.87 was requested to pay Resurgens Orthopaedics.

This item was easily explained by Earley. Resurgens Orthopaedics is where suspect James Larry Parris, Jr. was treated after the officer involved shooting that took place in Aug. 2019.

“Once, you discharge your weapon on someone, they automatically become in custody,” Earley explained and continued, “so we assume all of their medical bills from that point forward and while they’re in jail.”

There were a few more items listed for the police department that had needed prior council approval. Council member Jason Woody questioned Earley, “Was it in the budget to purchase those items?” 

Earley answered Woody that all purchases were in the budget and offered to code his budget showing where each line item is taken from.

In the police department bills was an invoice for $702.08 for new tires (including balancing and mounting) for a Tahoe.

While Earley agreed that moving forward he would seek approval on expenditures over $500, he added, “There’s a few things in a police department that, if we have a few blow outs on our vehicles, I can’t wait to get tires for a vehicle. I have to get our vehicle back on the road.” 

Earley suggested that he meet with council to go over necessities for the department and get an ongoing pre-approval of certain items that his department needs to function immediately, so that if need arose he would already have the go ahead to purchase.

Council agreed to this suggestion by Earley.

Moving forward the City Council agreed that all department purchases over $500, that is nonessential for the department’s continued operation, would need to have prior approval before spending can take place.

McCaysville Mayor Seabolt criticized over job performance

Community, News

McCaysville, Ga. – The final 2019 meeting of the McCaysville City Council was anything but business as usual, as conversations aimed at the Mayor became heated and accusations came to light.

Council member Rodney Patterson, who ran against Mayor Thomas Seabolt in the recent city election, used his last meeting with the council to “clear his conscious”. Patterson brought to the forefront some of the issues that he felt the re-elected Seabolt was not being completely transparent about.

The first of Patterson’s reveals were the Mayor’s reimbursement filings for the use of his personal vehicle to conduct city business. According to Patterson, Seabolt had turned in $2,055 in claimed vehicle expenditures last year.

McCaysville, Georgia, City Council, Mayor, Police, Thomas Seabolt, Rodney Patterson, Richard Wagner, Attorney, Cortney Stuart, Sue Beaver, Beavers Home Improvement, Tamberlyn Tanner, Park, Budget, CDL, Illegal, Expenses, Michael Earley, Park, Restrooms

Mayor Thomas Seabolt received criticism at the Dec. 2019 City Council meeting.

“That’s equivalent to 822 gallons of gas at $2.50 a gallon,” Patterson said explaining his concern and added, “That’s 12,335 miles at 15 miles per gallon.”

Patterson questioned Seabolt if he had done that many miles in less than a 2 square mile city. Seabolt responded, “I might have. I don’t know.”

Seabolt pointed out that the amount also covers “wear and tear” on the vehicle and that he had adhered to the City Charter when turning in his expenditures.

Council member Richard Wagner came to Seabolt’s defense stating that the expenditures also cover vehicle insurance: “I don’t think it’s being abused at all.” 

“I’ve never turned in no expense,” Patterson retorted, stating that he has used his personal vehicle for city business as well,  “I figured the $200 a month (city council salary) they give me was fair enough for me to do my traveling.” 

Patterson then turned his attention to recent renovations being completed at the city park. $28,000 was set aside for renovations of the park’s restrooms. This remodel was to include five toilets and one urinal.

Beavers Home Improvement was put in charge of the job and the city did manage to stay under budget only spending $23,346. However, renovations were not done as expected. Patterson pointed out that the restrooms ended up only having 3 toilets and one urinal, and that no insulation or heating and cooling were put into place, so the restrooms could not even be left open during the Winter months due to the threat of freezing pipes.

A citizen in the audience, a former plumber with over 30 years experience, chimed in on the restroom issue.

“I’ve never seen a job that was done so shabby,” the citizen addressed Seabolt speaking of pipes being installed at improper heights and the lack of quality of the fixtures.

The citizen went on to express his feelings on the possibility of nepotism playing a role: “This man is not a plumber. He is not a qualified contractor. He’s not licensed, but yet he gets a job to go down there and gets paid by the city and his mother’s on the council. This is not right.”

Wondering why the job wasn’t inspected before payment was given the citizen summed up his feelings by stating, “I’ve never in my life seen my tax dollars thrown down the drain like I did down there.”

Although the restroom remodel came in under budget, the park budget itself is $42,459 over the original $300,000 agreed upon by council to spend. Patterson asked Seabolt why the city had not been reimbursed through grant money for the amount spent on the park, and wondered if the city would see the reimbursement at all. Patterson felt the bid process was not done properly by the city and this could disqualify them for reimbursement.

Lastly, Patterson questioned why city employees were driving a Class A vehicle without a CDL license. 

According to the United States Department of Transportation, a Class A CDL is required to drive tractor-trailer, or combination vehicles that have a gross combined weight rating of 26,001 pounds or higher with the towed portion of the vehicle that weighing more than 10,000 lbs.

“Why did we not send them to Tri County?” Patterson questioned about the licensing, saying that he had brought this issue to the council before and it was brushed aside. “I just want to know why our employees is driving around illegally in a CDL Vehicle, and there is not a single employee in the City of McCaysville that is licensed to drive it.”

Patterson pointed out the liability to the city and asked City Attorney Cortney Stuart what would be the end result if there were an accident in the vehicle without proper licensing. Stuart replied, “It’s a problem.”

Seabolt also took criticism from citizens in the audience. 

Tamberlyn Tanner addressed the workload that McCaysville Chief of Police Michael Earley has taken on. Earley gives monthly updates at City Council meetings, and usually these updates pertain to more than just police business.

In these updates Earley will often speak of upkeep taking place within the city. It is clear from the updates that Earley is the point of contact on many projects including roadwork, bridge inspection, and city infrastructure.

Tanner expressed that these responsibilities should fall on the Mayor and not the city’s Chief of Police.

“How are you supposed to do your job plus do his job?” Tanner spoke to Earley and then turned to Seabolt, “You’ve added things on his plate that you should be doing and you should be taking care of, not him.”

Tanner said that Earley’s main concern should be to protect and serve the citizens of the city, and wonders how he can continue to do so when new responsibilities are being added to his plate regularly.

This turned into a heated debate between Tanner and Seabolt about Seabolt’s inability or unwillingness to handle the responsibilities of mayor with Seabolt finally stating to Tanner, “I’m not going to sit here and listen to you.”

“Well, you will because I pay taxes here,” Tanner replied. 

Seabolt offered no further explanations or defense during the public comments and adjourned the meeting.

 

 

Featured Image : Previous McCaysville City Council meeting. (L-R) Rodney Patterson, Richard Wagner, Thomas Seabolt, and Larry Collis

2020 Budget Unanimously Approved by Commissioners

Feature News, Featured, News
property taxes increase non-critical state of emergency 2020 Budget

BLUE RIDGE, Ga – The $28,564,665 operating budget received full-approval from the commissioners after they tabled it in Nov. 26, 2019 meeting.

In the last meeting, Post One Earl Johnson refused to approve the 2020 budget until Chief Financial Officer Robin Gazaway provided an approximated fund balance, to accurately determine the county’s financial standing.

“I have a tree’s worth of paper.” commented Johnson, “I’m fine with the budget as presented. The only thing that still concerns me as far as presenting our revenues, as far as land development or 911, those are all still revenue generators it’d be nice to have those numbers, from here moving forward, in our reports too.”

The monthly reports don’t consistently include those numbers or presented as permits received. Johnson suggested including the year-to-year dollar amount in land development, as well as other revenue generators, to gain a detailed assessment of building revenues in Fannin.

“Reporting our revenues so we can all keep up with revenues in the departments to me is critical.” said Johnson, “I just think it’s a very good gauge to know where we’re going to have revenues and expenditures.”

Johnson stressed that it didn’t have to be exact, just a measure to see the financial direction of the county. He used 911/ambulance services as an example. The department has a $2 million budget expenditure but brings in around $1 million in revenues, so the department only spends $1 million.

“[The budget’s] increase[d] from the 2019 budget that was $27,710,456, that’s an increase of $854,000 or three percent increase over the previous year,” explained Chairman Stan Helton, “We’ll be going into the general fund for $678,616.”

https://youtu.be/1v_HdWOgtzo

Commissioners cut around half a million from the original budget proposal in Oct. 2019. In the future, the commissioners will receive a monthly approximated fund balance.

Post Two Glenn Patterson recognized, “It’s one of the most important things we do all year long. We took a second look at it and reviewed things that we might feel uncomfortable with.”

He also commended Gazaway, “She bent over backward to help me understand. It’s a big step for all of us to understand these things.”

Helton added, “I’m greatly appreciative of Commissioner Patterson and Johnson[…]everybody’s input is important. We all have the same goal, and that’s trying to get the best services for the fewest amount of dollars for the taxpayer.”

Additionally, the commissioners chose a new auditor for 2019. The state of Georgia recommends to change auditors every three to five years, and Rushton and Associates conducted the previously three audits. Bates, Carter, and Company won with a bid of $55,000. The financial company audited several county governments in the past.

Risk Management 87 Percent into Budget as of Aug. 2019

News, Police & Government
Risk Management

BLUE RIDGE, GA – As of August 2019, Fannin County’s operating three percent under budget with Risk Management already 87 percent into its expenditure for the year.

The majority of departments reported approximately 60% into yearly budgets, but Risk Management far exceeded the others due to health insurance claims.

Post Two Glenn Patterson commented, “Risk Management 87 percent and we’re at the end of September. Are we going to go over?”

Points of Interest in the 2019 budget.

CFO Robin Gazaway confirmed that yes, the county would go over expenditure wise. She then assured him that the stopgap and reinsurance would activate at $2.4M. Individual employees also have a stopgap set at a certain amount.

“That keeps our costs down overall. The last two years, we had very little over $2M in health care costs of reinsurance,” said Gazaway.

A few departments also showed over for the year with the Fire Department at $128,926. Gazaway stated that half of the cost comes from the lease payment.

“The other half of it is for expenditures that we had for the new fire station. We had some money left over that I anticipated we would spend but did not spend. I am reimbursing the general fund for those expenditures, but that did not happen until September,” explained Gazaway.

This report just shows through August, so next month’s report should show a decrease in the Fire Department overages.

The Fire Department has also generated $127K from a recent property sale.

Horseshoe Bend Restrooms

Commissioners unanimously approved the development of new heated bathrooms at Horseshoe Bend Park for $53,680.

The process will include grading and demolition of current bathrooms with new construction of 20×20 set of bathrooms with a 20×30 walkway. The new facilities will also include HVAC and electricity, which the current facilities lack.

“It will match exactly what’s in Tom Boyd Park with those earthy brown colors, so we can have a consistent theme throughout our parks,” explained Recreation Department Director Eddie O’Neal.

The new bathrooms will add a toilet in men’s and women’s units. O’Neal has a goal of completing the project by Dec. 2019.

Chairman Stan Helton asked, “Is there anything that we might look at to improve the security?”

O’Neal confirmed that it is time to add a gate at Horseshoe Bend, but the county will decide on that at a later time.

Fire Chief Thomas Delivers First ISO Update

News, Police & Government
Thomas

BLUE RIDGE, GA – Fire Chief Larry Thomas delivered his first ISO update to the board of commissioners on Sept. 24 and reported that he has hired a temporary person for hydro-maintenance as well as added new training classes.

After last month’s report of Fannin County’s ISO rating increasing to a six, Thomas has implemented several methods to try and ensure a favorable report in July 2020.

Thomas has met with all the mayors in Fannin County as well as The Water Authority (TWA), and they have agreed to assist the fire department.

“Did you ever have any luck finding any companies that will do the flow tests or is that something the cities are agreeing to help?” asked Post One Earl Johnson.

Johnson stressed the importance of the ISO issue.

Thomas confirmed that Blue Ridge is providing the county with flow test data that is has recorded. The information from Blue Ridge goes back three years. McCaysville hasn’t offered that information but has promised to help in any way possible.

The temporary worker performing hydro-maintenance is servicing 20-27 hydrants a day, and Thomas would like to hire another temporary employee to assist with the 800 plus hydrants.

Chairman Stan Helton asked, “How long is it going to take them to [finish maintenance]?”

Thomas hopes the contracted workers will finish by the end of 2019. Then perform the maintenance again in early 2020, so when the insurance person comes back, the county will have two years completed.

The flow tests and maintenance should help the county earn up to seven points in the water department section of the ISO test. The money to pay for the hydrant servicing will come out of the fire department’s operations budget.

Johnson commented, “Have we found any contractors that do [flow tests] because I’m glad we have a guy going around greasing everything, but I think they need to be doing the correct flow test while they’re doing it.”

“I’ve talked to one,” confirmed Thomas, “I think he quoted me $75 per hydrant which would be $60,000 to do all of them. He would be able to do it, but I don’t know the time frame he would give for 800 hydrants.”

Two years of flow tests would each cost $60,000.

“The contract labor that you’re talking about hiring, they’re not going to be able to do an actual flow test,” stated Johnson, “They’re flowing the hydrant, just so we’re clear on the difference, a flow test has how many gallons per minute and probably pressure at that hydrant…We might want to look into if a contractor can do it all for $75 a hydrant.”

TWA’s looking to see if any other companies have done flow tests on record. Also, Thomas wants to see if the cities will help cover the costs of the flow tests.

Flow tests and maintenance needs to be performed every year.

For the fire department personnel section, the county has to hire paid firefighters, responding to fire calls, as well as preplanning for commercial, industrial, and institution buildings. Together, these efforts should increase the test score.

“We really need to start talking about that coming toward budget time to see what we can do to help the department,” stated Johnson, “Because I think that is another area that we’re going to have to move toward is having full-time fighters.”

Currently, a new rookie class is in training as well as additional training being offered volunteers.

“We will continue to do as much public safety education as possible to gain points in that area,” said Thomas, “Additionally, Cherokee County Georgia Fire Chief Tim Prather has offered the services of his Investigations Manager Cheri Collett to assist us in reviewing the ISO findings.”

Collett’s expertise is free of charge for Fannin County. She will begin as soon as possible.

“If we keep saying it’s not going to raise things that much by one point, it’s really not going to be worth the county spending a bunch of extra money. So, we need to make our mind up, does the ISO rating mean anything or nothing,” stated Johnson, “We’re all in agreement that the ISO rating needs to go in the other direction. So to go in the other direction, it’s going to take money. I think we all understand that, so I don’t think we need to keep saying it’s not that big a difference.”

Thomas agreed and added that he believes in the fire department is progressing with the ISO rating and overall.
Helton added he would like to see how much it will cost the county to get the ISO rating back down.

Johnson finished with, “I was able to witness first-hand the need for some full-time firefighters. There was a fire in my neck of the woods and we should be very thankful for volunteers that participate. The glaringly obvious thing that I saw for all of your department, there needed to be more people.”

CFO Estimates Budget Savings from Reinsurance Speculation

News, Police & Government
Reinsurance

Blue Ridge, Ga – CFO Robin Gazaway estimated that the county saved between $100,000 to $300,000 in reinsurance based on former CFO estimates.

Risk management’s budget was 85% into the operating budget for the year. Gazaway adjusted the presentation of the information with auditor’s permission to subtract the reinsurance money that the county receives for this expenditure.

Gazaway stated that she did a little research regarding the budget, and based on the information she found in the newspaper, she estimated that the county saved up to about $300,000.

“What was projected to cost the county and what was actually cost the county last year, we saved up to $300,000,” said Gazaway, “Again, I don’t have all the facts so I can’t tell you exact number, it could be less, it could be a little more, but I’m pretty sure it’s anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000.”

This amount is after the reinsurance paid everything for the year. Gazaway only had articles to base her estimations off of from that previous year.

Post One Glenn Patterson asked for confirmation about the savings amount from last year.

Gazaway confirmed that it only speculated savings from 2018, and it could be different this year based on the reinsurance money the county receives.

Post One Earl Johnson wanted to know when the commissioners could find out about the precise number of savings for the year.

Gazaway stated, “We can’t know that number precisely. That was just something that Mrs. Kirby had anticipated that I had read in one of the newspapers, that she had anticipated that the 2017-2018 costs would be $2.3M. If you’re not fully-insured, you won’t know what that number is unless you are fully insured.”

“So your numbers are off someone else’s numbers?” asked Johnson.

“Yes, sir, it was published in the paper. I just went by what was published in the paper,” explained Gazaway.

According to Gazaway, if an organization doesn’t have a history of being fully insured, then it can’t be predicted. She believed that Mrs. Kirby went by numbers that Kirby’s agent provided and made calculations based off of that information.

Mrs. Kirby was the county’s former CFO.

Fannin County administration was 58% into the budget through July 2019 with a couple of departments showing over. The Fire department, EMS, and Sheriff’s Office all had large lease prepayments or one time expenditures cited as the reasoning behind the overages. The jail cited inmate care such as medical and food for its increased expenses.

$60,000 for the fire department’s lease payment and another $64,000 occurred after the unexpected sale of property for the fire station, which resulted in unanticipated expenditures.

Public Works, Building Maintenance, and Tax Assessor reported under budget.

 

“I know it doesn’t show as generated revenue, like the recreation department,” stated Patterson, “I think that would be better, so at least, we could see the generated revenue for the sale.”

Hotel and motel reported lower than expected due to Mrs. Jackson not being in the office and will be reported more accurately next month.

SPLOST up 10 percent from this time last year.

Director of Recreation Eddie O’Neal presented three quotes for the replacement of the department’s maintenance truck. The old truck had over 200,000 miles on it and needed a new transmission. The lower bid from North Georgia Ford of $25,643 received unanimous approval for the purchase.

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