Georgia County Government - February 2009 - (Page 24)

CountyParade COBB Citizens’ Committee Deliberates on New Park Bond Acquisitions As soon as Feb. 1, a 15-person citizens’ advisory committee put in place by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners began reviewing public input on properties nominated for purchase with the county’s second $40 million parks bond. The second parks bond, approved in November, followed the county’s first successful 2006 parks bond, which funded the purchase of 300 acres of land for public recreation. According to Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens, “We wanted the public’s input and we wanted them to nominate the properties.” He added that the committee’s task of reviewing the public’s nominations will be time-consuming, but that he is looking forward to working with the public on the new parks bond purchases. As with the first bond, the citizens’ committee will recommend land purchases to the Board of Commissioners. For each nominated property, county staff will contact landowners to get property descriptions and information on why the property would make a good park acquisition for the county. Properties recommended for purchase under the first parks bond that were not acquired remain eligible. Education Center; the success of the fi re safety observation of Red Ribbon Week in local schools; and a new work certification program dubbed “Work Ready Community” in place under the auspices of the county’s Chamber of Commerce. Other items discussed included the economic downturn and its impact on growth, how state budget cuts may impact the county’s school system and ways to positively offset negative economic impacts. make arrangements for housing. Before Governor Sonny Perdue signed a law extending it last May, the state’s notice period for homeowners nearing foreclosure was as few as 15 days. Commissioner Connie Stokes, who chaired a county foreclosure task force last summer with representatives of Fannie Mae and several banks, said that as “number six” among counties with the highest foreclosure rates nationally, DeKalb wants to provide some “leadership” on the issue. DeKALB County Asking Legislature to Extend Foreclosure Sale Time Following a 6-to-1 vote in late November approving the measure, DeKalb County officials are asking lawmakers in the current session of the Georgia General Assembly to more than triple the minimum time it takes to sell foreclosed homes in the state, following homeowners receiving word that foreclosure is in process. According to the Associated Press, DeKalb commissioners are seeking to extend the time required to foreclose to between 90 and 120 days, to give affected families more time. Current state law permits lenders to foreclose and liquidate properties in little more than a month, without a judge’s approval, which commissioners claim is too short a period of time for people to salvage their homes or FORSYTH First Tree Replacement Fund Project According to county commissioners, a parking area at Forsyth County Central Park will benefit from improved landscaping thanks to the county’s tree replacement fund, at no cost to taxpayers. The planting at Central Park will mark the first use of available tree replacement funds. “The project illustrates the tree replacement fund dollars at work,” said County Arborist Greg Wallace. He added that the funds are only used for trees planted on public property, and this project represents a worthy use of the monies. GRADY Partial Tax Bill Payments to Be Accepted For property owners who were unable to meet the Dec. 20 deadline for property tax bills, the Grady County Board of Commissioners in recent weeks unanimously approved Tax Commissioner Phyllis Gainous’ request to allow the office to accept partial tax payments. Local economic factors such as layoffs, combined with a slow economy overall, combined with citizens making the inquiry on behalf of partial payments, prompted Gainous to make the request. County Attorney Kevin Cauley expressed his agreement that “it is within the commission’s jurisdiction” to accept partial payments, but added that the county does not have the right to waive related interest and penalties due to the state. DAWSON County and City Host Forum on Community Progress Dawson County leaders met with officials of the City of Dawsonville recently to address matters related to 12 facets of county and city service delivery, with each local government office represented given the chance to share current and future plans. The informal meeting hosted groups from Lanier Tech, Dawson Emergency Management Services, Etowah Water Authority, the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and others, all sharing future projects and current “successes” including programs now making progress for the community. On the agenda were strides made in adult education at the Adult 24 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - February 2009

Georgia County Government - February 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG Training Programs: A Foundation for Excellence in County Government ACCG Welcomes Newly Elected Commissioners Georgia’s Trauma System: The Emergency Management System Component Demographics Program Addresses County Planning Extension News: 4-H Camping Program Benefits Georgia Youth Research Corner: Promote Economic Development in Your Rural County County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - February 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.