Georgia County Government - July 2008 - (Page 41)

monitoring of sex offenders, including the start of a new neighbor alert program. A $120,000 grant for these activities was awarded in support of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, created in 2006 to protect the public, especially children, from violent sex offenders through a national sex offender registry system. The sheriff ’s office will use the funds to enhance its own registry management program, which oversees the 146 sex offenders now known living in the county. Capt. Edward Lacey, who commands the county’s criminal investigation division, said the grant will expand a current neighbor notification system. Through the agency’s Web site at www.cherokeegasheriff.org, residents may sign up for and receive e-mail notifications when sex offenders move into their neighborhoods. The grant will also fund another fully-loaded police vehicle with emergency equipment and two personal computers for detective use. U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Roswell) said the federal funding will “serve an important need in Cherokee, to provide comfort to families.” one service provider for each of the eight residential unincorporated zones, and ensures pickup of all residential garbage. County officials assert this will lower the number of collection trucks going through neighborhoods weekly. The county also aims to increase the amount of garbage residents recycle, boosting up to 35 percent the current 10 percent level of recycled, reused or composted waste, hoping to outpace other counties statewide in the amount of waste recycled. The new plan will facilitate residents recycling all types of paper, including cardboard, plastics 1-7, aluminum items, metal cans and glass. the program will serve as an extra benefit. “If it works well we’ll continue it, and if not we won’t,” he added. FAYETTE West Fayetteville Bypass Closer to Reality In late April, county commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with the condemnation of 10 land parcels to begin construction of the new West Fayetteville Bypass, Commissioner Eric Maxwell said. The bypass will be built in three phases, said Maxwell, who added, “This is officially the first step in moving forward with the project, though the engineering has been complete for some time.” Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) dollars are funding the bypass, which is the biggest SPLOST project slated for the year. GWINNETT New Solid Waste Management Plan Will Reduce Carbon Footprint The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has adopted a new Solid Waste Management Plan expanding recycling opportunities and reducing the number of waste-collection service providers doing business with the county, according to reports. Slated to be implemented in 2009, the new plan designates McDUFFIE Bonus Program Approved for Employees Exceeding Expectations County officials announced that a new incentive bonus program goes into effect this year, approved 3 to 1 by the Board of Commissioners in late April. County employees who meet or exceed job performance evaluations by department heads will be eligible to receive up to $500 per year in bonus money. Commissioners have agreed to appropriate $50,000 toward the program, said County Manager Don Norton. Chairman Charlie Newton said he thinks the program will reward county employees doing “an outstanding job,” and that STEPHENS Combined Code Enforcement and Planning With City In early May, Stephens County officials considered a combined planning and code enforcement department for Stephens County and Toccoa, which Chairman Kenneth Peeples said could help the county and city join forces to combat blight, boost communication, utilize the benefits of a steering committee on joint projects and hire a grant administrator. With an ongoing study on consolidation, Peeples said the time might be right to consider combining a planning and code-enforcement department. As negotiations continue, officials of the county, city, development authority and chamber of commerce are looking to leverage their joint influence on behalf of the community’s future economic well-being. The move would involve merging code enforcement with the city’s planning department to create a new, self-contained county department, pending the city’s approval. Meanwhile, county and city officials continue joint efforts to streamline services, improve efficiency and cut costs, Peeples said. ■ Mapping Georgia Communities Workshop: An Introduction to GIS and Community Analysis July 10, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. July 11, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Note: These are one-day workshops. Participants choose which day to attend. Classroom Resource Group - 1 Glenlake Pkwy, Suite 200, Atlanta To register or for more information: Please visit www.nur-online.com Audience: Beginners, anyone interested in mapping their community. Participants will learn to use ArcGIS 9.2 to do the following: • Creating thematic maps Participants will learn to create thematic maps of their own data, and display spatial trends in information. • Address mapping (geocoding) Participants will learn to map addresses of their clients, their projects or incidents such as crime or disease. • Download and map Census and American Community Survey data Participants will learn to extract and map current Census data such as poverty, race, language, population, transportation, education and workforce characteristics. • Participants will also learn to: • conduct spatial queries • download free shapefi les • create well-designed maps Mapping techniques are transferable to all other communities. Exercises are designed for beginners. Intermediate Excel skills required. JULY 2008 www.accg.org 41 http://www.cherokeegasheriff.org http://www.nur-online.com http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - June 2008

Georgia County Government - June 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters Laurens, Treutlen and Wheeler Counties Work Together to Leverage Economic Development 2008 Hurricane Season Forecast to be Active GDEcD: Georgia Is Bolstering International Marketing Efforts U.S. Communities Announces Auto Parts Service Contract Energy Innovation Center Opens in Warner Robins Coweta County Uses Innovative Road Construction Techniques Counties & The Law: An Analysis of Ten Commandments Displays in Georgia Courthouses Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Talbot County Extension News: Youth Summit Teaches Civic Engagement Research Corner: Train Me! NACo News: NACo Seeks Obesity Prevention Programs County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - June 2008

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