DCSO to upgrade communications equipment utilizing drugs funds

Commissioners OK’d a request from Sheriff Craig Peavy to upgrade the sheriff’s department’s communications equipment from VHF to 800 megahertz from Motorola Solutions. The DCSO has obtained space on a cell tower, purchase the equipment from Motorola to be installed on the tower for $300,000.

It would be financed through Motorola for five years at no cost to the county and will use the DCSO drug funds to purchase it. The reason for the upgrade is that the DCSO does not have the ability to communicate in large areas of the county. Sheriff Peavy has already purchased the radios that will be installed into the vehicles also using drug funds. 

GDOT is accepting applications for the upcoming 2025 Fiscal Year Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant funding that must be submitted by February 1, 2025. Dooly County is eligible for a little over $733,800 with a 10% match required.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has also given a green light to providing the county $165,000 to Dooly County for the Fiscal Year 2024 LMIG Safety Action Plan that allowed for center line or striping. It will require a $16,500 or 10% match from the county. A contract will be awarded to Peek Pavement Marking for the project. 

The board has tentatively adopted the 2024 millage rate that will increase property taxes by 0.56% or a millage rate of 17.45 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $100,000 is approximately $3.68 and the proposed increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $300,000 is approximately $11.64.

Commissioners will hold public hearings to receive public comments about the proposed 2024 property tax millage rate Thursday, September 12 at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, September 12 at 6:00 p.m. and Friday, September 20 at 10:00 a.m. 

EMS Director Don Williford addressed the board with information on the, “Agency that we use, EMS Consultants have asked if they could write off some old debt that is no longer accessible. So any debt that is seven years old, no matter what, you can’t collect it. A majority of this debt is based on self pay money that has met or exceeded that timeframe that is not collectible. They are just asking to be able to take it off the books. It makes our books look better, so that we don’t have that amount of old debt sitting there.”

Following  discussion, the commissioners unanimously agreed to write off, “The seven-year-old and beyond debt.”  Mr. Williford continued, “Just because we’re writing it off, it’s just not going to be in the books, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.”  The board was notified as a matter of information of Pinehurst’s intent to annex 1.26 acres into the city limits.

The council had given its approval for Councilman Mark Peavy and his wife Ashley to have a section of their property annexed into the City of Pinehurst. In a letter submitted to city hall by Mr. Peavy said in part, “Currently a 1.26 acre portion is not part of the city. The remainder of the five acres is.

Our plans are to build a house, therefore I’m requesting that the City of Pinehurst annex the 1.26 acres, so that my entire five acre tract will be part of the city.” A request from the Crisp-Dooly Accountability Court for $20,000 in county funds to help with their expenses was approved. This expenditure can be taken out of the drug abuse and education fund.

The Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association are holding joint training sessions Oct. 1 in Tifton, Ga. for counties and cities on House Bill 581. This legislation passed recently would make significant changes to property and local sales tax systems if approved by voters in the November 5 General Election.

  According to sources, “This bill makes several changes to Georgia’s property tax laws: It revises the definition of ‘fair market value of property’ to clarify how certain property valuations should be determined. It requires ad valorem property tax bills to include additional information, such as the estimated ‘roll-back rate’ that would result in no tax increase. It mandates that all parcels in a county be appraised at least every three years. It allows county boards of tax assessors to appeal sales ratio studies under certain conditions. The bill also creates a new statewide adjusted base year homestead exemption for ad valorem taxes, which would allow a homeowner’s assessed value to increase by no more than the inflation rate each year. This exemption would be automatically granted starting in 2025, unless a local government opts out by March 1, 2025 after holding public hearings. Finally, the bill imposes a 2% cap on local sales and use taxes, with exceptions for certain transportation and educational taxes, and allows for a new local option sales tax for property tax relief in certain jurisdictions that have a base year homestead exemption.”