Henry County Update - January 11, 2013

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January 11, 2013

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Regular Meetings January 15th at 6:30 p.m.

February 5 at 9 a.m.

Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Commission meetings will air on Henry TV Channel 14, at 9 a.m., 2 p.m., & 7 p.m. on these days:

Monday Meetings: Wed, Fri, & Sun

Tuesday Meetings: Thurs, Sat, & Mon

Henry County Board of Commissioners Makes Several Appointments At the first meeting of the year, the Henry County Board of Commissioners took the opportunity to make several appointments and reappointments in what was an organizational meeting for the new board.

Newly installed Chairman Tommy Smith took the first few minutes of the meeting to present current Commissioners and introduce himself and new members, District I Commissioner William “Bo� Moss and District III Commissioner Gary Barham, to those in attendance. Due to technical difficulties with audio, sound was not available during the live broadcast, however re-airings have sound accompaniment from a backup sound system.

After a unanimous decision to appoint District IV Commissioner Reid Bowman as Vice Chairman of the Board and reappoint Shay Mathis as County Clerk, Commissioners approved several other board appointments.

The First Meeting of the Henry County Board of Commissioners in 2013

Appointments to the Recreation Board are as follows: District I- Robert T. Mitchell, Jr., District III-David Wilkerson, District IV-Terry Sanders and District VEugene Edwards.

Appointments to the Henry County Water and Sewerage Authority are as follows: District I- Michael Barr, District IIIJimmy Carter, District IV-Harold Jenkins and District V-Carlotta Harrell.

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Henry County Releases Its Annual Financial Reports

The FY 2011-12 Popular Annual Financial Report is now available for review at www.henrycounty-ga.org/finance

The Henry County Finance Department has released its Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) and Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for FY2011-12. The documents both detail the finances of Henry County for the year, though the PAFR presents the information in an easy to understand format, making it readable and accessible to all citizens. They are available on the County’s website for review at www.henrycounty-ga.org/Finance.

Reports for previous years have been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for achieving the highest standards in government accounting and financial reporting. In fact, the FY 2010-11 report marked the sixth year that Henry County has received the Certificates of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its CAFR, and the fifth year for the PAFR. The FY2011-12 reports have been submitted for review by the GFOA and notification of any awards will be announced this summer.

The financial information contained in the CAFR is audited by Mauldin & Jenkins CPA. Both reports are compiled internally by Finance Department staff, spearheaded by Connie Mitchell, Assistant Director of Finance. The Communications Department assists with the writing, design and layout of the PAFR.

Henry County to Update Hazard Mitigation Plan Public Input Sought to Develop the 5-Year Plan Every five years, Henry County, along with every other state and local government entity, is required under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, to submit for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) approval a current Hazard Mitigation Plan. Henry County’s plan, last updated in 2008, is up for renewal this year, which is why the Henry County Emergency Management Agency has contracted with the Atlanta-based engineering and consulting firm, Atkins, for emergency management consultant services.

A Hazard Mitigation Plan outlines the types of natural and technological (man-made) hazards for which a community is most at risk, as well as a community’s hazard history. The Plan then assesses how the community can best mitigate the effects of these hazards and protect citizens through prevention, resource protection, structural projects, emergency services and public outreach programs.

According to Henry County’s 2008 Hazard Mitigation Plan, there are seven natural and two technological hazards for which Henry County is particularly vulnerable. The natural threats are severe thunderstorms, winter storms, tornadoes, drought, earthquakes, flooding and wildfires.

Technological threats include hazardous materials releases and dam failures.

Our biggest natural threats are always going to be weather-related,” explained Don Ash, Henry County Emergency Management Agency Director. “While the greatest Technological Threat is always going to be a hazardous materials spill due to the number of industries we have in our community which deal with hazardous chemicals, and the number of interstates, highways and rails criss-crossing our community, carrying thousands of tons of hazardous materials every day.”

Other than having in place a pre-determined response for handling these types of emergencies,

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APPOINTMENTS From Page 1 Appointments to the Zoning Advisory Board are as follows: District I-Alton L. Head, District II-Edward Toney, District III-Jim Risher, District IV-Vikkie McReynolds, District V-Delander Nelson and the Chairman appointment is Larry Babb.

Appointments to the Henry County Development Authority are as follows: District I- Geoffrey Cauble, District II-John Bozeman and District III-Charles Mobley.

Appointments made to the Library Board are as follows: District I-Marianne Morfoot, District III-Sandy McGarity and the Chairman’s appointee is Janice Lowe.

For the Council on Aging, appointments are as follows: District II-Geraldine Tanner and Carolyn Floyd and District III-Janie McGarity, Charlie Tomlinson and Judy Gilbert.

During the meeting, Smith also informed citizens that to enhance transparency in Henry County Government,

from now on the Board will announce the category of the issue or issues that will be discussed in Executive Session.

He also announced that the Board will work on a way to allow citizens an opportunity for public comment before an issue is voted on during a meeting.

“We’re going to try diligently to come up with a system to allow citizens to speak during the course of an issue,” said Smith. He added that throughout the course of the year, he will update citizens on happenings and discussions taking place within County government.

The next regular meeting of the Henry County Board of Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, January 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Administration Building.

County Commission meetings can be seen at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily on Charter Cable Channel 14 or on demand at www.henrycounty-ga.org.

HAZARD From Page 2 maintaining a current Hazard Mitigation Plan has one very important benefit: it ensures funding eligibility.

“If the County maintains its Hazard Mitigation Plan, it will maintain eligibility for disaster grant funding and bring money back to the community,” explained Margaret M. Walton, Project Manager, Atkins Emergency Management.

“This will ensure that the County maintains disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.”

To develop the Plan, the Henry County Emergency Management Agency has assembled a committee comprised of stakeholders in public safety, public works, stormwater management, public health, planning and communications/public relations, among others.

As part of the process, Atkins is seeking public input to assess Henry County’s hazards. Citizen participation is extremely critical, as it will help the County to better assess the hazards for which we are at risk, and more effectively mitigate those hazards. Citizens who live in Henry County are asked to go online to www.henrycounty-ga.org/EMA and complete the short Hazard Mitigation Public Participation Survey, found on the right hand side. Completed surveys should be sent no later than January 31, 2013 via email to margaret.walton@atkinsglobal.com or by U.S. Mail to Margaret Walton, Atkins, P.O. Box 31100, Savannah, GA 31410.

In each edition of Inside Out, we will take time to answer your questions about Henry County government. If your question is pertinent to citizens in general throughout the county, we’ll answer it on the air, or use it to develop topics for future episodes of Inside Out. Scan the QR code or visit: www.henrycounty-ga.org/InsideOut

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Storm Spotter Classes Teach Citizens to Spot Dangerous Weather The Henry County Emergency Management Agency is offering Storm Spotter classes to facilitate the education of individuals who live throughout the county to be the eyes and ears for the National Weather Service, and assist them in spotting storms when they occur. Participants will have their choice of two classes on February 19th,, the first at 2pm and the second at 7pm. Both classes will be held at the Emergency Operations Center.

The classes will be led by Barry Goodman from the National Weather Service (NWS). The informative class will focus on how to spot dangerous weather, particularly tornadoes and hurricane conditions. Participants will learn what a severe storm is, the structure of a severe storm, how it develops, and how to inform the NWS of severe weather.

The Emergency Operations Center is located at 526 Industrial Boulevard in McDonough. Classes are free, but participants must pre-register. Those interested in attending one of the classes should contact Shelita Broomfield at 770.288.7865 or sbroomfield@co.henry.ga.us to reserve a space.

New Student Contests Announced for Severe Weather Awareness Week February 4-8, 2013, is "SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK" in Georgia, and the Henry County Emergency Management Agency is encouraging citizens of all ages to become more aware of severe weather safety measures by holding a variety of contests.

One of Henry County Emergency Management Agency's (HCEMA) most important goals is to educate residents and make sure they are prepared should they ever face a disaster. HCEMA targets the entire Henry County population, including children and teens, who are often the most eager to learn and can find creative ways to get prepared and then share that enthusiasm with their peers. Consequently, this year during Severe Weather Awareness Week (February 4-8) HCEMA is encouraging Henry County elementary, middle and high schools to become involved by participating in one of several severe weather awareness contests: - A Poster Contest will be open to all elementary school students in Henry County and must address why it's important to plan for severe weather.

- An Essay Contest will be open to all middle school students, in which the writer must share why it’s important to prepare for severe weather.

- A Public Service Announcement Video Contest will be open to all high school students. Students may form teams of up to four people to script and produce a public service announcement illustrating why it's important to

plan for severe weather, ways to plan for severe weather and include a safety message.

Posters and essays must be dropped off or mailed to the HCEMA office no later than January 28, 2013. PSAs must be submitted in DVD form no later than February 28, 2013. Contest winners will be interviewed at the school campus by Henry TV 14 for the Update News program, and recognized at the Henry County Board of Commissioners meeting along with other prizes. The winning Public Service Announcement will air on TV14 for one month.

Contest Entries can be mailed to: Henry County Emergency Management Agency, Attn: Shelita D. Broomfield, 526 Industrial Blvd, McDonough, GA 30253 Essays may also be emailed to: sbroomfield@co.henry.ga.us. The poster and PSA must be mailed or hand-delivered.

Adults also have an opportunity to get in on the fun and win a NOAA weather radio! For your chance to win, simply submit a brief essay, 200 words or less, on why you want a NOAA weather radio by Thursday, February 9th.

It’s that simple. HCEMA is giving away two NOAA weather radios. You must be 18 or older to enter or have parental consent, and live in Henry County. No purchase is necessary.

For complete rules and details, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/911.

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Henry County Police Department Announces 2012-2013 HEAT Grant The Henry County Police Department (HCPD) is once again proud to announce the award of a matching funds grant from the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) for $53,900.00 to be part of the “MetroAtlanta Multi Jurisdictional DUI Task Force." The purpose of the H.E.A.T. unit is to enforce D.U.I., Speeding, and Aggressive Driving laws and to educate the importance of Occupant Safety (Seat belts and Child Restraints) to the citizens and visitors of Henry County. By maintaining this valuable state-wide collaborative program, the Henry County Police Department hopes to encourage continued support of the citizens in the department's tireless pursuit of safer roadways for area motorists and their families.

The grant from GOHS will fund 40% of the salaries for one officer and a sergeant, and Henry County will be responsible for 60% of their pay as well as 100% of two additional in-kind officers. HCPD has enjoyed a long-time partnership with GOHS in enforcing speeding, safety restraint, and DUI laws on the county’s local, state route, and interstate roadways. Unit officers also heavily promote educational awareness for motorists through safety road

checks, school and community support visits, and as instructors in HCPD’s Citizen’s Police Academy.

The grant began on October 1, 2012 and runs through September 30, 2013. The Officers involved in this project are Sergeant Scott Cumbie, and veteran Officers Kelly Horne, T.R. Williams, and Robert Butera. 100% of their time is devoted to making the roadways of Henry County safer for citizens, employees, and visitors. Their time-inservice is designed to maximize motorists’ safety assurances through saturated patrols, road checks, and priority patrol in areas noted for injuries and fatalities.

The Henry County Police Department is pleased to announce this opportunity to maintain our statewide partnership with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety and other Local Law Enforcement agencies in our continuing effort to save lives and reduce injuries and fatalities on Henry County and Georgia highways.

Should you need additional information regarding the H.E.A.T. unit, please contact Kimberly Monast, HCPD Research & Development Specialist at (770) 288-8133 or 770-889-7411.

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Lost stray animals hopeand to see you soon. are held at the Henry County Animal Care and Control Shelter for four days (excluding Lost and stray animals are (4) heldcalendar at the Henry County Animal Care Sundays and county holidays) in order to give their owners a and Control Shelter for four (4) calendar days (excluding Sundays chance to reclaim them. After that time period, adoptable animals andheld county holidays) in allows. order to give their owners a chance to are as long as space reclaim them. After that time period, adoptable animals are held as long as space allows.