The Henry County Update - Newsletter

August 13, 2020

Board of

BOC Sets Property Tax Millage Rates with No Increase in the County Millage

Commissioners Also approved Special Service Districts to levy taxes for Regular Meetings August 18th, 6:30 p.m.

September 1, 9:00 a.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 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

county-provided services

The Henry County Board of Commissioners voted to hold the millage rate in unincorporated Henry County to last year’s rate of 12.733 in adoption of the 2020/2021 millage rate. The action came at a called meeting following a public hearing held lon August 11.

In related action, Commissioners also approved resolutions on Special Service Districts (SSD) to set a millage rate to levy taxes for the purpose of providing county services to unincorporated Henry County, and the cities of Hampton, Locust Grove, McDonough and Stockbridge. The four SSDs include services for Fire, Police, Recreation and Unincorporated which covers GIS mapping, building permits and inspections, planning and zoning and code enforcement.

The Board set the county’s millage rate at 12.733 ($12.733 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation) for unincorporated Henry County; 9.474 mills for the city of McDonough; 12.402 mills for the city of Stockbridge; 10.578 mills for the city of Hampton and 10.578 mills for the city of Locust Grove. These rates include the Continued on page 3

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August 13, 2020 Published by

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Board Approves Bid Award for Road Widening in North Henry

The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved a bid award for the construction of West Village Parkway/Panola Road widening at the August 4 Commission meeting.

The West Village Parkway/Panola Road widening project was awarded to C.W. Matthews Contracting in the amount of $6,472,287.

The Board also approved two related resolutions regarding a reimbursement agreement with Snapping Shoals EMC and the installation, maintenance and energy cost for the lighting of West Village Parkway.

Due to the construction of the parkway, Snapping henrycounty-ga.org

Shoals EMC must relocate a portion of its facilities. The estimated construction cost is $101,851.42. Funding for the utility relocation is available in the project budget.

The installation of lights including wire, poles, conduit and labor is quoted in a monthly cost of $1,328 for 120 payments totaling $159,452.40. Funding is available in the Henry County DOT streetlight account.

West Village Parkway/Panola Road is an approved District 5 SPLOST IV and SPLOST V major transportation improvement project. SPLOST IV and V were approved by voters in November of 2013 and 2019.

Millage Rate - continued from page 1 Special Service District millage rates.

During the meeting Tax Commissioner Michael Harris gave a millage presentation and an overview of how taxes are divided among Henry County Government, the Henry County School System and the Henry County Water Authority. He said that out of property taxes paid, the county receives 37 percent and Water Authority Board receives five percent, with the largest share going to the Henry County School System with 50 percent (maintenance and operations) and the School Bond at 8 percent.

The millage rate is a multiplier that is established to generate tax revenue based on real estate values. Taxes collected go toward a number of services, including, but not limited to, police and fire protection and emergency management, animal control, road construction and maintenance, parks and recreation facilities, community development, planning and zoning, support of library activities, building and inspections, court administration and operations, senior services and transit services.

The millage, or tax rate, in each county is set annually by the Board of County Commissioners, or other governing authority of the taxing jurisdiction,

and by the Board of Education. A tax rate of one mill represents a tax liability of one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value. The millage rate is a multiplier based on the assessed value of property, which determines how much in property taxes an individual or entity pays to the county. The county then uses that revenue to fund the annual budget.

While addressing the Board, Harris also gave a presentation to educate the public on the various exemptions available for homeowner’s who qualify, to help reduce a portion of their tax bill. He outlined the homestead exemption, as well as the various other exemptions based on age and disability status.

At an earlier meeting, Harris said that there is a wealth of information at the Tax Commissioners office and said he also offers a Property Taxes: Your Rights & Responsibilities booklet that outlines the various functions of his office, information on motor vehicle registrations and all of the exemptions available to property owners and how to apply for them.

For more information on the millage rate or your tax bill or to obtain a booklet, please contact the Henry County Tax Commissioner at 770-288-8180 or visit henrytc.org.

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August 13, 2020 Commissioner Bruce Holmes to Host ‘You and the Blue’ Community Forum

District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes is hosting a community forum titled ‘You and the Blue— Let’s Talk’ on Saturday, August 29 from 10 a.m. to noon at New Hope Christian Ministries in Stockbridge.

The forum will offer important conversations for the entire family, sharing ways to have positive experiences with law enforcement. Special guests include Henry County District Attorney Darius Pattillo, Henry County Solicitor General Pam Bettis, Henry County Police Chief Mark Amerman, Superior Court henrycounty-ga.org

Judge Holly Veal and New Hope Christian Ministries Bishop Richard Leaphart.

The event will take place on the football field behind the church and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for social distancing purposes.

New Hope Christian Ministries is located at 1738 Fairview Road in Stockbridge.

For more information regarding the community forum, call 770-288-6001.

Board Authorizes the Installation of Streetlights on Designated Major Corridors

Several Henry County roadways will be brighter and safer after the Henry County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution authorizing the creation of a Thoroughfare and Intersection Lighting Program to identify thoroughfares and intersections where streetlights are warranted, to expedite the installation of streetlights and to provide for the associated utility fees and maintenance costs. The action came at the August 4 Commission meeting.

As an added agenda item requested by District II Commissioner Dee Clemmons, Board members listed out the major corridors on which they wanted to see streetlights. County roadways that will have streetlights installed are as follow: • Jonesboro Road from the city limits of the City of McDonough to the County line; • Rock Quarry Road (portions located in unincorporated Henry County); • Fairview Road from Panola Road to Hearn Road; • East Atlanta Road from the city limits of the City of Stockbridge to Fairview Road; • Panola Road from East Atlanta Road to Highway 155; • Campground Road (portions located in

unincorporated Henry County); • Jodeco Road; and • Highway 20 The following intersections are also included in the program: • 1520 South Ola Road • Lester Mill Road and Bill Gardner Parkway (including a reasonable approach in each direction); • Coan Road at Old Jackson Road.

“Today has been huge. We have added streetlights to roadways, and this is what our citizens have been asking for some time now,” said Clemmons. “They want to see where their tax dollars are going, and we are able to all of this without raising taxes. That is the key. I am thankful and very excited to see this is where we are today.”

The resolution also allows for the BOC to add additional thoroughfares and intersections from time to time upon approval by the majority of the Board.

The costs of installation of streetlights, together with recurring utility and maintenance costs associated will be paid from the County D.O.T. budget.

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August 13, 2020 BOC Approves Right-of-Way Agreement for Western Parallel Connector

The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution, in a 4-1 vote with District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson in opposition and Chair June Wood being absent, to support a Rightof-Way Agreement between Henry County and the Georgia Department of Transportation for the Western Parallel Connector. The action came at the August 4 Commission meeting.

Transportation Project Director Roque Romero gave the presentation, explaining to the Board that the estimated right-of-way cost totals $10,670,000 with a contribution of six million dollars from GDOT. The county will cover the remaining balance of approximately four million dollars, which will be allocated through Fund Balance.

Commissioners applauded the project and thanked District II Commissioner Dee Clemmons for her contribution.

“Great job to Commissioner Clemmons. She has been working on this for about four years now and it is a beautiful depiction of what that road is going to look like,” said Holmes. “I just want to say congratulations again and I am looking forward to seeing it come to fruition.”

“I want to thank you for doing the hard work and getting this done. It is very much needed,” said

District IV Commissioner Vivian Thomas. “This will bring an economic engine to the county because when we open up those four-lanes in that area, going from Hudson Bridge to Jonesboro Road, we will then have a way for traffic to travel through there for businesses to establish and bring more jobs there.”

“It is a great project and well needed. I am just concerned about the 4.6-million-dollar price tag. That money would have to come out of Fund Balance if it goes up,” said District III Commissioner Gary Barham.

Wilson questioned the donation of right-ofway parcels from property owners and shared similar remarks as Barham.

“If it exceeds that [4.6-million-dollars], will we be out of pocket. We really don’t know how much it is going to cost us,” said Wilson.

County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews said that several years ago GDOT planned to fund the entire project but chose to delay and scale it down due to expensive right-of-way costs.

“This project has moved expeditiously as a result of having those conversations with property owners and GDOT. We have an opportunity to have a four-lane road on the side of I-75 within the next year if we can move on this project and I think that is going to be huge for this county,” said Clemmons.

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BOC Hears Elections Update and Proposes New Building The Henry County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from Ameika Pitts, Elections Director, on recent election, voter registration, absentee by mail voting, advance in-person voting and voting location change updates at the August 4 Commission meeting.

In her report, Pitts said that there is a total of 178,182 registered voters in Henry County with approximately 11,141 that are inactive, approximately 166,500 that are active and 473 that are pending.

She also explained that the Red Oak Elementary Gymnasium voting location has been moved back to its original location at Red Oak Church, that is located in Stockbridge. She said the First Baptist McDonough Church’s West Campus voting location has moved to its southside office which is located directly in front of the church.

Pitts further stated that as of July 31, the Elections Department has received a total of 7,279 absentee ballot applications for the upcoming run-off election and has processed them all. The department has also received 3,451 absentee ballots.

Later in her presentation, Pitts asked Commissioners to revisit a location change for the Elections and Registration Building, located at 40 Atlanta St. in McDonough, due to lack of space and safety reasons.

“We’re looking at possibly having 600 plus machines for November and with the space we have, it is very hard to do testing. It has been very difficult, and I know you all are aware of it,” said Pitts. “We have outgrown this location. Not just for us to do our very best at making sure this election runs smoothly but for safety reasons as well. We are not able to social distance like we should and it affects daily operations.”

Board members posed questions about the building and made suggestions on how to move forward.

“I think we all know that the Elections Office has

been in terrible shape for quite some time and I think we could have made a decision to move forward with repairing that building a long time ago,” said District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes.

District IV Commissioner Vivian Thomas echoed Holmes remarks and said she visited the Elections Office and had an extensive conversation with Pitts regarding the department’s needs.

“I am very concerned. There are people getting hurt trying to move around in those offices and it was very difficult for me to move around in those offices too,” said Thomas. “It is not acceptable in any form or fashion and I support Commissioner Holmes in the fact that we need to find funding and get this done ASAP.”

County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews answered questions and reminded the Board of proposed plans regarding the facility as well as shared other possibilities for the Elections Building.

“There is a 10-acre tract of land that is owned by the county that we can certainly look at to build a new building, not only for Elections but also for the Tax Commissioner’s Office. We are out of space in this building [the Administration Building] and if we could free up that space, we can have more space downstairs.”

She said the county has funding available to construct a new building whether it only be the Elections Building with an estimated project cost of three million dollars or adding the Tax Commissioner’s Office with an estimated project cost of five million dollars.

District III Commissioner Gary Barham agreed with his fellow commissioners.

“We are not going to be able to move into a new building this year because the election is right around the corner,” said Barham. “But this gives us some time between now and the next elections that come around.

I would love to see us move the Elections Building into a new facility.”

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August 13, 2020 Commissioners Approve a Transportation Advisory Group

Henry County Government staff participate in the BOC Webex meeting while safely social distancing.

The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved the creation of a Transportation Advisory Group to assist the Board and staff in defining transportation challenges and potential solutions, and ensuring the county and the cities remain focused on long-range transportation planning, and identifying available sources to assist in funding current and future transportation needs. The action came at the August 4 regular Commission meeting.

The Transportation Advisory Group (TAG) will be comprised of ten members, with each Commission district and the Commission Chair each having an appointee.

The cities of Hampton, Locust Grove, McDonough and Stockbridge will each have one appointee as well, and Sam Baker, Henry County Transportation Planning Director, will act as a nonvoting staff member to assist with the functions of TAG.

Qualifications require that appointed members have demonstrable experience or education in one or more of the following areas: transportation planning, community development or economic development.

“I want to compliment the Board of henrycounty-ga.org

Commissioners for coming up with this idea,” said Baker, who presented the resolution, and who will assist the group.

District IV Commissioner Vivian Thomas, who initiated the idea of establishing an advisory group said that it was paramount to have commissioners appoint members to the group and thanked Baker for his efforts so far in transportation planning.

“I have been at the forefront of this transportation issue by making sure we have a director here and in making sure transportation was kept on the front burner,” said Thomas. “I do believe that commissioners should appoint someone to this board.

Each commissioner knows their district, they know the people who are actively involved and want to make changes and the people who can be ambassadors to bring other people to participate.”

Other commissioners agreed.

“We know our communities very well and we know who is interested in being on different types of committees,” said Holmes.

Baker said he expects to have the Transportation Advisory Group in place by the end of next month.

Visit Henry County, GA, Honors Jim Joyce as 2020 Tourism Partner of the Year

Jim Joyce, curator of the Heritage Park Veterans Museum, was honored as the first recipient of Visit Henry County, GA’s Tourism Partner of the Year award on Friday.

The Tourism Partner Award honors a Visit Henry County, GA partner who embodies the spirit of hospitality and seeks to enrich the experience of visitors to Henry County. The recipient of this award must work with Visit Henry County, GA to expand the CVB’s mission and have demonstrated an ongoing dedication to guest experience.

“Since the day Jim and his volunteers opened the doors to the Heritage Park Veterans Museum they have welcomed in all people and shown them what love of country, honor and respect look like,” said Director of Tourism Laura Luker. “Jim has invested in

Henry County guests from families who wandered in, to working with us to accommodate after-hours press trip tours.”

During his tenure, Jim has gathered a group of volunteers who share in and grow the vision for the museum, give name to soldiers’ stories and show an honest and heartfelt desire to engage with guests.

Jim and his volunteers have created a place that has become a well-loved destination for many and a surprising hidden gem for others.

The award itself was made by BarnBeautiful in Stockbridge with glass from fellow artist Stain Glass Diva. It was crafted using wood reclaimed from the hay barn at the Broder family farm in Henry County. It is an award created by one local tourism partner to honor another partner.

Elections Update - continued from page 6

District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson asked that before a decision be made that all Board members visit the proposed 10-acre site, and all were in support.

Before concluding the meeting, Commissioners

authorized the county manager to prepare an Elections and Registration Building resolution for the September 1 Board of Commissioners meeting.

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