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This online news website is owned and operated by Becky Watts. The Editor can be reached at 770-468-7583 or at editor(at)PikeCountyTimes(dot)com. Pike County Times is a website for citizens to keep up with local events and stay informed about Pike County government. It began on November 13, 2006 as a watchdog on county government and has turned into an online newspaper.
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Wednesday, September 11, 2023 – 11:00 a.m.
Courthouse, Main Courtroom, 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, Georgia
ZEBULON - The Pike County Board of Commissioners met in the upper courtroom of the courthouse on Wednesday, September 11, 2023 – 11:00 a.m. for a special scheduled meeting to receive public input on the notice of proposed property tax increase
The meeting is open to the public will be broadcast live on Pike County Times' Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pikecountytimes.
[Note from the Editor: It will be nice when our county joins so many of the surrounding cities and counties to record and broadcast its meetings in a central place so citizens who cannot attend the meetings can watch at their convenience. Especially those who do not have a Facebook account because there are more people out there than you know who don't like Facebook.]
Click here to see the documents that have been uploaded with the agenda on the Pike County government page.
Present were Commissioners James Jenkins, Jason Proctor, Tim Guy, Chairman Briar Johnson, County Clerk Angela Blount, and Interim County Manager (CM)/Attorney Rob Morton.
1. CALL TO ORDER ....... Chairman Briar Johnson
2. INVOCATION ....... Silent Invocation
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ....... Chairman Briar Johnson
4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. 50-14-1 (e) (1))
Motion to approve the agenda. Approved 4-0.
5. NEW BUSINESS
a. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input on the notice of proposed property tax increase.
Janice Cairns. Since 2019, it has increased almost 60%. I understand that this has to happen because of growth in the county, but it would behoove us to be able to get more businesses in our county. I know that we’ve hired someone from the IDA to do this, but I haven’t seen that and would like y’all to address that.
Cherry Thomas. Rob (Morton) alluded to a fairly lean budget, but you can’t fix something if we don’t know what the problem is. There has got to be places in the budget where this can be cut. There are a lot of ways to cut budgets. If we have people reading novels in county offices, there is a problem. Don’t replace people when they retire. People are struggling out here. Taxing people who have owned property for 30 years is a problem. I’ve contributed a lot over the years and seniors in general have too. There has got to be a way to cut this budget to not ask people do another raise in the millage rate.
Benson Hilley, Jr. Lived in Pike County for 72 years. Live 20 feet from a lot higher taxes in another county. The millage rate is tied to the assessment. Last year it was at 36%. The elderly who are getting these notices don’t know to come and try to do more. If someone has to relinquish more than one month’s social security for taxes, there is a problem. There are a lot of people who can’t afford this. Asked what have you done with the money we’ve given you. Do some management with employees, etc.
Morton. We do have another meeting on September 24 at 6 p.m. We will set the millage rate after the public hearing on the 24th.
6. EXECUTIVE SESSION - NONE
7. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn. 11:12 a.m.
Agenda subject to revision.
To read more about how we got here, click here to read "BREAKING NEWS: Commissioners Vote for Proposed Tax Increase; Public Hearings Scheduled" at pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BREAKINGNEWStaxincrease8.29.24.html.
[Note from the Editor: If you appreciate being able to read information from county meetings for free on Pike County Times, please make a donation to Pike County Times through the PayPal link at the bottom of the page or by check to Pike County Times at PO Box 843, Zebulon so I can justify the amount of time that I am spending away from family. It may not seem like much but sitting in a meeting and then typing it up takes a lot more time than you might imagine! Thanks for reading Pike County's only FREE newspaper.]