At their December 10, 2024, Regular Session, the Lowndes County Commission
reappointed Rick Williams to the
5.a. Valdosta Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority,
and appointed Amanda Peacock to replace Michael Smith (who was recently elected to join the Lowndes County Commission in 2025)
There was quite a bit of opposition to
6.a. REZ-2024-18 LSO Invest, 3910 Old US 41 N, ~0.93ac, R-21 to C-C.
Previously, GLPC recommended Denial 7:1.
Lowndes County Commissioner Scottie Orenstein recused himself.
The other County Commissioners unanimously approved this rezoning.
Disgruntled citizens filed out, with grumbling and finger pointing at a certain Commissioner.
Despite the longest Millage Public Hearing ever,
people are still very confused by why, how, and how much taxes are going up.
This may be partly because most Lowndes County officials (elected, appointed, or employee) are not willing to say in public how we got here.
Lowndes County Chief Appraiser Lisa Bryant did make a long presentation at the Historic Courthouse about that, but many people did not attend.
Plus there are a few further wrinkles.
For many years, the Tax Appraisers were not keeping up with valuations as they changed due to increased sale prices of comparable properties.
When the appointed Tax Assessors first came in, many of their staff (the Appraisers) left,
and the remaining staff are busily catching up.
The appointed Tax Assessors spent a great deal of time at the office
for the first year, getting this changeover started.
So valuations are going up.
This pass they got to commercial valuations, which went up.
Also, they’re applying the law about what is a business, which includes
for example that some church properties being used for non-church purposes are not exempt.
Property owners do get a letter from the Tax Assessors saying what the new valuation is and saying how the owner can appeal.
Many appeals are successful.
Some the Tax Assessors appeal to court, and some of those they win.
But remember, taxes are actually valuation (adjusted by homestead exemptions, conservation easements, LOST, etc.) times millage.
Commissioner Clay Griner tried to explain that.
Finance Director Stephanie Black showed where the money goes:
mostly to schools, Sheriff’s Department, and courts.
After her presentation, Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter said that the Lowndes County Commissioners had no intent to raise the millage.
Instead, they intended to roll back the millage to a lower number.
This was already hinted
in the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission meetings:
The Board of Commissioners is required to set the millage rate for 2024. The county-wide millage for 2024 was advertised at 7.804 mills, requiring advertisement of a tax increase of 6.09% and three public hearings. The rollback millage for 2024 is 7.356 mills. The 2023 millage rate was 8.778.
So that’s a 16.2% decrease in the millage rate since last year.
Which means very few people are going to see the 20% tax increase they fear.
Really, more like 3 or 4%.
Or, as Clay Griner said about the Unincorporated tax example, 5% over two years.
In many cases, the increase is due to no valuation change in many years.
[The Georgia Department of Revenue]
is ordering McIntosh to make equitable and uniform assessments or face a $63,070 penalty.
The county must provide its Board of Assessors with the equipment, personnel, supplies, transportation and software necessary to ensure that 2025 assessments can pass the state’s review, according to one of the top points in a consent order signed by the county and the state last month.
The order refers back to the 2022 tax year, when the state found deficiencies in McIntosh’s treatment of homes and public utilities and noted that the county had failed to correct prior problems.
I can’t say that the county is supplying the Lowndes County Tax Assessors all the
“equipment, personnel, supplies, transportation and software necessary”
to do their job.
The Lowndes County Commissioners, the Chamber, the Development Authority, etc., keep pushing development northwards, into agricultural and forestry areas.
I wish I could say the Tax Appraisers were no longer helping with that, but I cannot.
Also, the county could put the presentation slides on their own website.
Along with the board packets.
Finally, people are rightly distressed over having to work two jobs to make ends meet.
But the source of that problem lies way higher up, in price gouging by big corporations disguised as inflation.
Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
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Commissioners Joyce Evans and Demarcus Marshall voted against
5.a. REZ-2024-01 Gresham Event Venue, 8415 Old Valdosta Road.
Commissioner Clay Griner moved to approve with four conditions,
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein seconded, and they and Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker voted for.
Most of the audience left, clearly not happy.
The Lowndes County Commission at its Regular Session approved everything else unanimously.
At an hour and fourteen minutes, this was among its longest meetings.
$4.2 million per mill times 2.5 mills is $10.5 million dollars a year that the county fire department is to get with no budget.
That’s up from last year’s $3.2 million per mill for $8 million,
so the county fire department is to get an extra $2.5 million.
Yet they never advertised it as a tax increase.
For what, and with what accounting, was not explained.
Chairman Bill Slaughter said it was to maintain a “healthy fund balance”
for five years since they established the fire department.
Where can citizens see this fund balance, and what it is being spent on?
Both millage rate votes passed only by 3:2.
If all three of the Lowndes County Commissioners who voted against on one or the other had
voted against both,
or if one of the other two had joined against on those votes,
the county would have had to think again.
However, for the main millage, they approved
8.778 mills, which the Chairman said is a rollback of 1.434 (from last year).
This is noticeably less than the
Department of Revenue recommendation of 8.896 mills.
Less as in 0.118 mills or $283,200.
Until Commissioner Clay Griner the previous day asked what millage would actually match the projected budget,
they seemed to be heading for the larger figure.
Still no explanation of why only one of the three beer and wine licenses got a Public Hearing.
They added an item for a change order on a Val Del Road water main for “about $180,000”.
That reminds me that in July
they approved almost $10 million
for another water main in advance of development.
Got to have sprawl.
More questions about the condition of the old dog box. Continue reading →
Two weeks ago the Lowndes County Commission appointed
Brenda Mims to the Board of Health,
Victoria Copeland and Marion Ramsey to ZBOA,
and Jane Peeples to the Library Board,
all unanimously.
Everything else (except one item) also passed unanimously, including
8.b. Amend 2015 Solid Waste Ordinance
raising waste collection fees
and reducing collection center hours, as requested by the haulers.
It became even more obvious why
they tabled it a month before:
All the Lowndes County Commissioners apparently already knew how they were going to vote on the Howell Road halfway house rezoning before they held the
Public Hearing.
All letters were opposed, of those sent to GLPC or LCC by December 12, 2022, about the rezoning for a Dollar General on GA 122 at Skipper Bridge Road.
Thanks to Lowndes County Planner JD Dillard for sending this correspondence on REZ-2022-20 last Monday in response to an open records request,
before I mentioned it in the Lowndes County Commission meeting Tuesday.
There are letters from Joyce Jones, Jamie Rowntree, and Gwen Rowntree.
Gwen Rowntree sent a letter to the Greater Lowndes Planning Commission (GLPC)
and followed up with a similar letter to the Lowndes County Commission (LCC).
It appears that while there may be people who have spoken to Commissioners in support of the rezoning,
as of Monday a week ago nobody had written in support.
All the letters are in opposition.
County Manager Paige Dukes said they are legally required to table the
rezoning for a Dollar General,
because they were a day late on getting notices out,
although she twice blamed that on the Valdosta Daily Times.
County Chairman Bill Slaughter said the applicant had requested tabling,
and he recommended the second meeting in January (January 24, 2023).
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know why.
The Chairman said, “It works out for two of the parties involved, the county and the developer.” (Nevermind the people.)
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein said “I’m not in favor of tabling something only to give the developer more time… If he has true intentions on meeting with the community and having a meeting with them, a town hall, something a little more official,
then I’m OK with that.
But not to just give them more time.”
The Chairman disagreed, “Well, I don’t think time is going to resolve anything in this particular situation.” Plus regarding the applicant, “We’re here to give them the courtesy if they make a request through that application process.”
Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker wanted clarified that the main issue was the date issue.
Alleged County Attorney G. Walter Elliott reminded them they have to vote to table
(the Chairman cannot just unilaterally table).
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall wanted to know if the Planning Commission knew about the timing issue. Continue reading →
Clay Griner did show up to vote on an item in his district, but Scottie Orenstein did not:
6.b. Adopt Resolution Accepting Infrastructure for Grove Pointe Phase V Sect 2.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall was also absent.
Commissioners Joyce Evans and Mark Wisenbaker were present both at the Work Session and this Regular Session.
Chairman Bill Slaughter was present.
County Manager Paige Dukes was also present, giving many
Reports, assisted in a video about Griner Park at Webster and Ashley Street.
In the five-minute Work Session yesterday morning, the few Commissioners who showed up breezed through everything with no discussion.
Commissioners Scottie Orenstein and Clay Griner were absent,
even though this is in their districts:
6.b. Adopt Resolution Accepting Infrastructure for Grove Pointe Phase V Sect 2.
But of course it is expected that the Commission will approve that item this evening at 5:30 PM.
County Manager Paige Dukes was also absent, in her case due to illness.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
There are no notes, because nothing happened worth commenting on.
See also Continue reading →
As expected, the Lowndes County Commission at its Regular Session passed the half million dollar bailout for a developer.
Not expected, they changed the agenda at the beginning of the meeting to approve new Commission district maps
and a resolution supporting them, for immediate transmission to the state.
One citizen wishing to be heard spoke about the never ending noise from the 15 month old Arglass factory.
Vice Chair Joyce Evans, presiding over the meeting in the absence of Chair Bill Slaughter, introduced the agenda change for district reapportionment indicating the Commissioners all already knew this was going to happen. Continue reading →
![[Collage @ LCC 10 December 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-12-10--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 15 October 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/many.jpg)
![[Property Tax Example]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--property-tax-example.jpg)
![[Unincorporated Property Tax Example]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--unincorporated-property-tax-example.jpg)
![[Millage Calculation]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--millage-calculation.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 12 March 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-03-12--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 22 August 2023]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-08-22--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC Regular 2023-04-11]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-04-11--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Map, Letters, REZ-2022-20, GA 122 & Skipper Bridge Road]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-12-12--lcc-letters/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 12 December 2022]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-12-12--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Appointments and Reports]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-05-10--lcc-videos/many.jpg)
![[Amendment, Commissioners, New Districts]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2022-01-25--lcc-videos/many.jpg)