Category Archives: Lowndes County Commission

Lowndes millage rate still low compared to other counties

What’s the county’s current millage, and how does it compare to other counties? Indeed county employees are mostly underpaid, but are none overpaid? And where’s that employee compensation study the county paid for? Three curious omissions in an otherwise excellent VDT story.

Matthew Woody wrote for the VDT 28 May 2014, Lowndes County weighs tax increase,

Lowndes County Commission weighed the likelihood of raising the millage rate Tuesday — the first such tax increase in 15 years.

During the past few years, Continue reading →

Reappointments and no annexation in Regular Session @ LCC 2014-05-27 @ LCC 2014-05-27

The Hahira Annexation request was actually heard at the Planning Commission meeting that started at the same time. All the incumbents were reappointed to the Hospital Authority and the shadowy Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority. Both the road abandonments were approved, of Old Statenville Road and of Excess Right of Way on James Road and Riverside Road. All that plus a GEMA Sheltering Memorandum of Agreement and a beer license, plus Poll Manager Recognition.

The blank page Budget Session was at 9:30 AM after the Work Session, all the same day as this Regular Session. See also my question about Budget Public Hearings.

Here’s the agenda. See the videos from the Work Session of the same morning and the videos from the previous Regular Session of May 13th for context on the Public Hearings and on the James Road Subsidence.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

When are the two Budget Public Hearings? –John S. Quarterman @ LCC 2014-05-27

We can’t see the draft budget before the Public Hearings, said the Chairman, answering my question after the Lowndes County Commission Regular Session of 27 May 2014.

When are the 2 Budget Public Hearings? CWTBH --John S. Quarterman

Video. After congratulating the Chairman on recognizing the poll workers, Crawford Powell for recusing himself on an appointment of himself, and the Commission for the recent Budget Sessions, I asked:

  1. When are the two Public Hearings required by state law before adoption of the budget?
  2. When is the second Budget Session mentioned in the Budget Session held earlier that same day?
  3. Where is the draft budget on the county’s website so the public can see it before the public hearings?

Chairman Bill Slaughter’s answers to me after the meeting adjourned: Continue reading →

Three appointments, a well, special events, and an annexation @ LCC 2014-06-09

An appointment to the Lowndes Division of Family and Children Services and two to ZBOA. Public hearings for well and septic and a special events change to the ULDC. The Hahira annexation recommended against by the Planning Commission is under For Consideration, along with a request to declare items surplus and several purchase requests.

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Courthouse Preservation Committee Meetings

At different times of day so people with different work schedules can attend, and actually asking for suggestions: you can tell these meetings were organized by Judge McClane, not by the Lowndes County Commission.

Update 2015-03-21: Videos of Hearing 1, 9 June 2014, videos of Hearing 2, 10 June 2014, videos of Hearing 3, 12 June 2014, and Committee Report 12 January 2015.

On the county’s front page:

The Lowndes County Historical Courthouse Preservation Committee will host a series of public input meetings, beginning next week. The meetings are being held in an effort to gather any ideas citizens may have regarding possible future uses for the historic Lowndes County Courthouse. Once the information is gathered, the committee will present their recommendations to the Board of Commissioners. Next week’s meeting schedule is as follows: Monday, June 9, 6:00 p.m.; Tuesday, June 10, 3:00 p.m.; Thursday, June 12, 1:00 p.m. All meetings will be held in Commission Chambers, Lowndes County Administrative Building, 327 North Ashley Street, Valdosta. For more information, please contact Amanda Smith, at 229-671-2400 or asmith@lowndescounty.com.

These meetings are also listed in the county’s calendar, but if you click on any of them you get a blank page.

The VDT has more details today, Continue reading →

A Suwannee County Commissioner publishes agenda packets

Commissioner Ricky Gamble publishes the entire agenda packets even though the Suwannee County Commission does not.

Suwannee County itself publishes the basic agenda, such as the current one for 3 June 2014, and so does the Suwannee County Democrat.

That newspaper also for the agenda packet links to Commissioner Ricky Gamble’s website, which has a page with Commission agendas, including Continue reading →

First of two public meetings on the budget @ LCC Budget 2014-05-27

Chairman Bill Slaughter started this morning’s budget session as “the first of our two public meetings on the budget before that budget will be adopted; basically a work session to go over the budget.” Does that mean it is a Public Hearing? If so, why do the county’s front page and calendar link to a blank page for a “Budget Session”, and there’s no Public Notice, even though there were Public Notices for the two road abandonments on the agenda for the Work Session and Regular Session? How can it be a Public Hearing if it’s not announced as such and the public doesn’t know about it? Gretchen says that near the end they clarified that this was not a Public Hearing, and there would be two actual Public Hearings before the budget was adopted, although when is still a mystery.

Here’s a video playlist, followed by links to the individual videos. There are no links to an agenda, because the county didn’t publish an agenda, nor a draft budget.

Continue reading →

Videos: Road work and apparently annexation @ LCC Work 2014-05-27

Nevermind the County Engineer said about the Cat Creek Road bridge, “All construction will take place during the months of June and July” (Work Session 2014-03-24), it was closed when Gretchen was headed for this morning’s Work Session, so she had to go by Moody AFB on Bemiss Road, and was a few minutes late. That’s why there’s no video for the first few agenda items, and the videos are handheld. They vote 5:30 PM this evening at the Regular Session, is the same time as the Planning Commission meeting.

The smaller acreage for the return of the Hahira Annexation request is because it no longer has frontage on Hagen Bridge Road, only on GA 122, thus removing the county’s previous grounds for objection (but it’s also on the Planning Commission agenda at 5:30PM today, same time as the Regular Session). There is an appointment to the Hospital Authority and two reappointments to the shadowy Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority that approves bonds. Two Public Hearings for road abandonments, of Old Statenville Road and of Excess Right of Way on James Road and Riverside Road. All that plus a GEMA Sheltering Memorandum of Agreement and a beer license, plus Poll Manager Recognition.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes. See videos from the previous Regular Session for context on the Public Hearings and on the James Road Subsidence.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Work, Budget, and Regular Sessions all Tuesday @ LCC 2014-05-27

The Hahira Annexation request is back (while on the Planning Commission agenda the same day), and there is an appointment to the Hospital Authority and two to the shadowy Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority that approves bonds. Two Public Hearings for road abandonments, of Old Statenville Road and of Excess Right of Way on James Road and Riverside Road. All that plus a GEMA Sheltering Memorandum of Agreement and a beer license, plus Poll Manager Recognition.

The county’s front page and calendar link to a blank page for a Budget Session Tuesday. Guessing by previous behavior, that may mean at 5PM before the Regular Session at 5:30 PM, which in turn is the same time as the Planning Commission meeting. The Work Session is also Tuesday, at 8:30AM, due to Memorial Day Monday.

Here’s the agenda. See videos from the previous Regular Session for context on the Public Hearings and on the James Road Subsidence.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Videos of votes: James Road fallout, airport, water, sewer, alcohol @ LCC 2014-05-13

In a Special Presentation to Thomas Smith on retiring from the 911 center, we saw a rare use of the county’s video camera to display the podium at the front of the room. Escalated from contingency fund to SPLOST payment (we still don’t know how much): fixing the James Road 10-inch drop in 48 hours in front of Westside Elementary School due to faulty road construction in 2008. Also due to that same hasty 2008 James Road widening and realignment for the James Road second mall and massive subdivision mega-project that never happened, they scheduled a Public Hearing for abandoning Excess Right of Way on James Rd & Riverside Dr. And they voted to fix three discrepencies MIDS, Inc. found in its contract of last year. They voted for the low bid on the lift station pump without ever saying what the other bids were.

They reappointed Airport Authority Chairman Steve Everett for another four-year term; he did not appear. They approved the 911 Center surplus item sale. They scheduled a Public Hearing to abandon part of Old Statenville Road SE because they say only seven cars a day, no, now it’s ten cars a day, use it and there are no houses on it. Nobody had any questions about the a beer license.

And the County Manager said a quarantine on the Animal Shelter was being lifted and the next Work Session would be Tuesday (27 May 2014) because of the holiday (Memorial Day).

Here’s the agenda.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MAY 12, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →