Outlook gloomy in BOC chairman's 2012 State of the County address
Wednesday, April 18. 2012
In his annual State of the County address to the Barrow County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, county commission chairman Danny Yearwood said despite the positive results of a recent audit, the economic condition of Barrow County’s government remains fragile. He spent nearly an hour going through tables of data demonstrating the impact of several years of revenue losses.
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Engineering firm seeks additional funds
The owner of one of Georgia’s leading transportation engineering firms gave a command performance at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners.
Tom Moreland, the former president of Moreland Altobelli Associates Inc., appeared at the meeting with two top executives of his Norcross firm in order to explain the need for an additional $55,000 to complete a federally mandated environmental document on the future West Winder Bypass.
The BOC previously approved a $139,000 contract with the company for the completion of the environmental document. In addition, the company used $75,000 for some related environmental work under an original 2005 engineering contract for the bypass. That contract was recently canceled. [Full Story »]
Tom Moreland, the former president of Moreland Altobelli Associates Inc., appeared at the meeting with two top executives of his Norcross firm in order to explain the need for an additional $55,000 to complete a federally mandated environmental document on the future West Winder Bypass.
The BOC previously approved a $139,000 contract with the company for the completion of the environmental document. In addition, the company used $75,000 for some related environmental work under an original 2005 engineering contract for the bypass. That contract was recently canceled. [Full Story »]
Spending issue raises more questions
Questions raised last week about the purchasing policies of Barrow County’s government have raised new, and more troubling, issues.
County staffers last week apparently lied to the county attorney, telling her that there is no county document that establishes a spending threshold for when the Barrow County Board of Commissioners must approve purchases.
Yet two days before attorney Angela Davis told the Barrow Journal in an Oct. 20 email that no such document existed, the county’s top administrative official — operations development manager Bob Hohe — sent to another county official a copy of a 2010 memo that does just that.
[Full Story »]
County staffers last week apparently lied to the county attorney, telling her that there is no county document that establishes a spending threshold for when the Barrow County Board of Commissioners must approve purchases.
Yet two days before attorney Angela Davis told the Barrow Journal in an Oct. 20 email that no such document existed, the county’s top administrative official — operations development manager Bob Hohe — sent to another county official a copy of a 2010 memo that does just that.
[Full Story »]
BOC tries to hold down tax hike
Barrow County officials continue to shave pieces off the projected tax rate hike for fiscal year 2012.
CFO Rose Kisaalita Tuesday night presented to the Barrow County Board of Commissioners a proposed ad valorem tax hike of 2.06 mills, which would amount to an 18-percent increase in the current rate of 11.333 mills.
However, even that increase is based on the chief appraiser’s “worst case scenario” of a $2 million drop in projected property tax revenues based on the lower values in the tax digest.
The precise numbers will not be available from Tax Commissioner Melinda Williams until Friday at the earliest. [Full Story »]
CFO Rose Kisaalita Tuesday night presented to the Barrow County Board of Commissioners a proposed ad valorem tax hike of 2.06 mills, which would amount to an 18-percent increase in the current rate of 11.333 mills.
However, even that increase is based on the chief appraiser’s “worst case scenario” of a $2 million drop in projected property tax revenues based on the lower values in the tax digest.
The precise numbers will not be available from Tax Commissioner Melinda Williams until Friday at the earliest. [Full Story »]
Holliday withdraws from Airport Authority controversy
Don Holliday has stepped out of the controversy surrounding his re-appointment to the Barrow County Airport Authority by withdrawing his name as the District 4 appointee.
He did so in a Feb. 2 letter to Barrow County Commissioner Ben Hendrix, who appointed Holliday to the authority in late 2009 and requested his re-appointment in January. That request was vetoed by commission chairman Danny Yearwood after four of the six commissioners voted to approve Holliday’s re-appointment.
In the controversy that followed, the chairman’s veto power came under sharp scrutiny. When asked by state Rep. Terry England, legal council for the Georgia General Assembly offered the opinion that the chairman does not have the power to veto appointments to the airport authority. County attorney Angela Davis maintains he does.
If the controversy is not resolved, the commission could ask the State Attorney General for a ruling. Another option some commissioners are evaluating is taking to the state legislature a request for to amend the county charter in order to limit or remove the chairman's veto power. [Full Story »]
He did so in a Feb. 2 letter to Barrow County Commissioner Ben Hendrix, who appointed Holliday to the authority in late 2009 and requested his re-appointment in January. That request was vetoed by commission chairman Danny Yearwood after four of the six commissioners voted to approve Holliday’s re-appointment.
In the controversy that followed, the chairman’s veto power came under sharp scrutiny. When asked by state Rep. Terry England, legal council for the Georgia General Assembly offered the opinion that the chairman does not have the power to veto appointments to the airport authority. County attorney Angela Davis maintains he does.
If the controversy is not resolved, the commission could ask the State Attorney General for a ruling. Another option some commissioners are evaluating is taking to the state legislature a request for to amend the county charter in order to limit or remove the chairman's veto power. [Full Story »]
SINN-CLARK: Barrow BOC not getting job done
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” – Lord Acton
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the county commission in action, but I went to the meeting on Jan. 31 to see how the latest airport authority hoopla would fall out. At issue was chairman Danny Yearwood’s veto of commissioner Ben Hendrix’s re-appointment of Don Holliday to the authority.
There’s been a lot of “he said, she said” floating around about the chairman’s veto being personal, not political, and about how Holliday’s going to bring commercial airlines and big freight planes to the airport, so I thought it might be an interesting meeting; I was right. [Full Story »]
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the county commission in action, but I went to the meeting on Jan. 31 to see how the latest airport authority hoopla would fall out. At issue was chairman Danny Yearwood’s veto of commissioner Ben Hendrix’s re-appointment of Don Holliday to the authority.
There’s been a lot of “he said, she said” floating around about the chairman’s veto being personal, not political, and about how Holliday’s going to bring commercial airlines and big freight planes to the airport, so I thought it might be an interesting meeting; I was right. [Full Story »]
OPINION: Clarify veto power, or strip it from chairman
So maybe it doesn’t matter that Barrow County Board of Commissioners chairman Danny Yearwood vetoed the BOC’s recent reappointment of Don Holliday to the airport authority. It appears unlikely anyone on the board is going to challenge that in a legal arena.
But there is an important issue at stake here and that is to figure out just what is the balance of power on the BOC? [Full Story »]
But there is an important issue at stake here and that is to figure out just what is the balance of power on the BOC? [Full Story »]
England says legal opinions differ on veto power of county chairman
In a surprising political development after Monday’s failed veto override, Rep. Terry England told the Barrow Journal that a senior lawyer for the Georgia General Assembly does not agree that the Barrow county chairman has the power to veto appointments to the Barrow County Airport Authority.
Commission chairman Danny Yearwood vetoed the Jan. 25 reappointment of Don Holliday to the authority, and his veto was sustained Monday night when the board’s four-member majority failed to capture a required fifth vote to overturn it.
[Full Story »]
Commission chairman Danny Yearwood vetoed the Jan. 25 reappointment of Don Holliday to the authority, and his veto was sustained Monday night when the board’s four-member majority failed to capture a required fifth vote to overturn it.
[Full Story »]
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