Commission Hears from Constituents

The Jasper County Commissioners Tuesday heard from a number of residents of the Alcovy Shores/Rollingwood Cove areas on Jackson Lake, and the residents said, “We need help.”

They talked about the lack of law enforcement and the lack of code enforcement in the area.

The dozen or so residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting were just a fraction of those who attended a neighborhood meeting Saturday. The residents got together to “address the escalating issues of theft, vandalism, drugs, and break-ins” in their community.

One resident said there are activities going on there that are unsafe, undesirable, and illegal. She said she was tickled to see so many people at Saturday’s meeting; she didn’t realize so many were concerned about the neighborhood.

The residents were not just complaining; they had suggestions for solutions or at least assistance. They suggested a curfew be established.

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One resident, Dennis R. Horion, suggested the commissioners use whatever influence they may have to get internet access in the area and have it tied in with phone lines and cameras so the sheriff’s department can see more of the activity. He also asked that persons sentenced to community service be allowed to do that service in that area.

Sheriff Charles Roper also attended Tuesday’s meeting to respond to the concerns of the individuals.

He said there is already a statewide curfew in place for juveniles, with them not being allowed on the streets without an adult between midnight and 5 a.m. He said the Department of Juvenile Justice has has to tell them a juvenile can be detained. He assured the individuals that when his deputies catch juveniles in the streets during those hours they will inform the parents and pursue prosecution.

He said he would be happy to meet with the residents, but indicated last Saturday was not a good time. Some of the residents had complained that the sheriff was not at Saturday’s meeting, and the deputy who attended could not answer many of their questions, and he also said there was little they could do about the juveniles.

The sheriff encouraged the individual resident to call him, and assured those present he would meet with them.

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After public comments, the first item on the agenda was the presentation of the audit report by Mark Hardison, who said he was able to issue a “clean” opinion.

Mr. Hardison did find a few “material deficiencies” which he cited in his report, but all and all said the six months from January-June 2011 looked good. He said he saw improvement over previous audits.

The commissioners approved the audit, and moved on to electing the chair and vice-chair. Just like at the last meeting, Commissioner Jack Bernard nominated Alan Cox to be chair, and Mr. Cox seconded the motion.

However, the other three commissioners abstained from voting, so Commissioner Cox did not garner three votes and therefore was not elected. They then deferred action on a vice-chairman. So, Commissioner Charles Hill will continue to serve as chairman until such time as a new chairman is elected.

The commission named Chuck Jones to serve as a citizen representative in working on the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. The first meeting for that group is next Tuesday. Mr. Jones is a local resident who has repeatedly expressed interest in serving the county in different capacities. Commissioner Cox will be the commission representative on that committee.

Chief Financial Officer gave the financial report, and then presented a report on tax collections. Commissioner Bernard has repeatedly criticized the tax commissioner for her low level of collections. Jasper County typically collects about 92 percent of what is billed, and the state average is 95 percent, says Mr. Bernard. Currently, the amount of property tax collected is only about 81 percent, commissioners learned Tuesday night.

Commissioner Bernard said the county can request certain reports from the tax commissioner.

Ms. Smith said that the auditor had agreed to look at the disbursements each month and be sure she is recording them properly so that Tax Commissioner Merry Faulkner and Mrs. Smith’s records reveal the same information.

The county manager gave commissioners a legislative update on bills in the legislature that may affect Jasper County. He also said he attended an Economic Outlook session that shows that Georgia will see slow growth in 2012.

At the end of the meeting, commissioners voted to go into closed session to discuss pending litigation and personnel.