July 27, 2022 Board of Commissioners Approve Unchanged FY23 Millage Rate
Board of
Commissioners Regular Meetings August 2, 9:00 a.m. August 16, 6:30 p.m. Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings air daily on Henry TV Charter Channel 180 at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m. Please visit
henrycountyonline.com for more viewing options including Facebook and YouTube.
The Henry County Board of Commissioners Tuesday held its third of three public hearings on the Fiscal Year 2023 millage rate. Following the hearing, the Board voted 5-1 to leave the millage rate unchanged at 12.733 for a sixth consecutive year. While the County’s tax revenue is projected to increase, this owes to rising property valuations caused mostly by inflationary growth rather than any action taken by the government. And the majority or this burden will be felt by commercial property owners, who are not eligible for the county’s homestead exemption on their businesses. As District 3 Commissioner Dee Anglyn pointed out, “Make sure you have your homestead exemption.” This is because Henry is one of just 13 counties in Georgia with what’s known as a frozen homestead exemption. Under the provision, the assessed value of your home – as used by the County to determine your taxes – is pegged to the year prior to when a resident applies Continued on page 3
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July 27, 2022 Published by Henry County Communications & Public Information Department Henry County Government
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Millage Rate- continued from page 1 to homestead their property. District 1 Commissioner Johnny Wilson underscored the impact the frozen provision has had on his annual bills. “From 2017 to the current assessment, my County tax went up $15,” Wilson said. “Look at the amount of services that have been provided in that time, and it costs me $3 a year.” The government plans to use its revenue increase to hire ten new police officers as well as ten new firefighters and paramedics. Importantly, dollars are also being set aside in the event of an economic downturn.
millage rate and furloughed employees,” said Financial Services Director David Smith. “In this budget, with savings in the fund balance, it allows us to not furlough employees for at least three years should revenues fall.” Notably, the public hearing and subsequent vote pertained exclusively to the County portion of local property taxes. This amounts to 37 percent of the total millage rate, with another 5 percent going to the water authority and the remaining 58 percent going to the school system. The Henry County School Board approved a renewal of its assessed millage rate on Monday evening.
“In 2008, [during the Recession], the County increased the
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July 27, 2022 Henry County Launches Nurse Navigation Line Henry County Nurse Navigation Program will provide residents with customized care options to meet theri specific medical needs for callers with non-emergent injuries or illnesses. The goal is to help Henry residents get their healthcare questions answered without requiring a trip to the emergency room.
treatment. This might include a virtual visit with a doctor or a referral to an alternate destination to assist in decreasing ER saturation. The Nurse Navigation Program will allow Henry County Fire Rescue to allocate resources more efficiently and focus on promptly providing high quality patient care.
The program launched on June 28, 2022. If a caller’s medical complaint is non-threatening, which E-911 operators will triage with emergency medical dispatch, the dispatcher may then route those 911 calls to a licensed nurse. The nurse will assess the caller’s symptoms and identify necessary
To learn more, contact Henry County Fire Rescue at 770-2886616
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Henry County Represented at the National Homeland Security Conference
Emergency Management Coordinator Ashley Larrow was recently selected to represent the Henry County Emergency Management Agency at the 2022 National Homeland Security Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. The annual conference attracts professionals from all avenues of the public safety spectrum including Homeland Security, Law Enforcement and Fire and Emergency Management gather learn about emerging trends in homeland security and observe the new equipment and technology available to support their mission. At the conference, Larrow was asked to present on two topics: Best Practices for Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Local and State perspectives on creating exercises for intelligence and information sharing.
Larrow has worked extensively in both areas of discussion. Prior to joining the Henry County EMA team, she worked for Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency as a Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Manager. EMA Deputy Director Kevin Johnson said he is very proud of the work that Larrow continues to do for the citizens of Henry County and is extremely excited about the future. For more information on Henry County Emergency Management Agency, visit www.co.henry.ga.us/ Departments/Public-Safety-Emergency-Services/E-911
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July 27, 2022 Upcoming Events
Henry County Fire Rescue is once again hosting the Citizens’ Fire Academy! It will takes place from September 1October 27 on Thursday evenings from 5:30 pm -7:30 pm. Slots are limited. For more information or to register, contact Torrie Story at 770-288-6641 or tstory@co.henry.ga.us.
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Chair Carlotta Harrell Presents Florence Martin a Proclamation for her 107th Birthday
Florence Martin of Hampton turned 107 years old on July 8th. Chair Carlotta Harrell presented her with a proclamation commenmorating her special day on behalf of the Board of Commissioners. Florence’s family
and friends were present for the celebration. In addition, Florence, also received dozens of birthday cards from well wishers all over the country.
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July 27, 2022 Board Approves Agreements and Purchases
The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved several resolutions at the July 19 Commission meeting. Items approved include: • E-911 resolution – The renewal of the L3Harris radio system maintenance agreement with the first year totaling $599,933 and a small increase for each additional year thereafter. • Fire Rescue resolution – A reimbursement grant from the Georgia Trauma Commission in the amount $23,957 to reimburse the purchase of Trauma Equipment and Emergency Medical Supplies. • Sheriff’s Office resolution – Accepted the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program Grant Award from the Bureau of
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Justice Assistance in the amount of $65,004. • Leisure Services resolutions – Authorized the Aging Subgrant Contract with the Atlanta Regional Commission for Fiscal Year 2023 in the amount of $746,944 with a local match of $58,784. • Stormwater resolution – Construction of Drainage Improvements for Village Park playground and concession stand areas, located in District V to Zaveri Enterprises, Inc in the amount of $171,332. For a full list of items passed or to view the meeting in its entirety, visit co.henry.ga.us/watchTV or log on to the Henry County Facebook page.
HCPD Partners with Henry County Schools to Provide School Resources Officers
Several new faces will be seen in Henry County’s Schools thanks to a collaboration between the Henry County Board of Education and Henry County Government allowing the Henry County Police Department to operate the School Resource Officer program for the coming school year. The Board of Commissioners took formal action at its July 19 board meeting to adopt a resolution that provides a new MOU between the County and Board of Education to staff the School Resource Officer (SRO) program through the HCPD. The action comes after the Board of Education received notice of intent to terminate a separate MOU between the schools and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office back in June. The need to ensure a smooth and seamless transition to a law enforcement agency prepared to meet the needs of the growing district led to deep discussions between Henry County government and school district leaders. Officials agreed that the best option would be a partnership with the Henry County Police Department and that preparation would begin right away to ensure School Resource Officers would be in place, fully trained, by the first day of school
on August 3. With the Board of Commissioners having taken action, the Henry County Board of Education held a special called meeting for the purpose of approving the MOU earlier this week. County government officials and elected officials were pleased with the progress made towards safety in the school community. “We are looking forward to partnering with our Board of Education and school leaders on such an important initiative,” said Commission Chair Carlotta Harrell. “I, along with my fellow commissioners, know that our students deserve a safe learning environment with personnel able to respond proportionally to the needs of our growing student population, and this new agreement paves the way for that to happen.” The Henry County Police Department has provided officers in the past, in a limited capacity, to ensure safety. Returning responsibility to the police department is something that Continued on page 6
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July 27, 2022
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County Manager Cheri Matthews knows her officers are more than capable of performing at the highest levels. “Chief Amerman and his leadership team will provide the highest level of service to our school community as they do on a routine basis for all citizens throughout the county,” said Matthews. “The officers who will protect our schools will be well equipped to meet the demands of our schools by completing all state and local training requirements.” Police department officials are egar to get to work offering incident prevention, appropriate intrvention when required and in establishing meaningful relationships with students. henrycounty-ga.com
For more information on Henry County Schools, visit www. henry.k12.ga.us. For information on the Henry County Police Department, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org.
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