The Oconee County Board of Education was following the procedures set out in law when it announced on Jan. 2 that it intended to opt out of the statewide floating homestead exemption, Board Member Ryan Hammock said on Monday evening.
“In reality, what we are doing is trying to make a decision on do we want to opt out or not,” Hammock said.
The Oconee County Board of Commissioners and Board of Education have called a joint meeting for 6 p.m. on Jan. 29 to discuss a $1.4 million Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to put school resource officers (SROs) in the county’s schools.
The MOU calls for Sheriff James Hale to employ up to 16 deputies “as quickly as is reasonably practicable given the qualifications required of SROs and their availability” in order to provide one SRO in each of the 12 Oconee County School District schools.
Oconee County Schools Chief Financial Officer Peter Adams led off the first hearing on Thursday evening on the floating property tax exemption for homeowners, making the case to the Board that it should opt out of implementation of the exemption.
Adams took seven minutes for his presentation, telling the Board that financial obligations are continuing to increase annually and opting out allows the Board to maintain local control to best meet the needs of Oconee students.
Athens State Rep. Spencer Frye, visiting with Oconee County Democrats last week fresh from hearing Gov. Brian Kemp give his State of the State Address in Atlanta, did little to hide his disappointment.
“Massively hypocritical, in my book,” is how Frye, a Democrat, described what Republican Gov. Kemp had said in his address to the General Assembly late that morning.
Frank Bishop wants the county to allow him to change the concept plan for a 2.5 acre parcel in his Epps Bridge Centre as well as the list of allowed uses for the land so he can add an automotive oil change and lubrication shop and car wash to the acreage.
The 2.5 acre parcel, owned by Bishop’s Epps Bridge Centre II LLC, sits in front of a 13.8 acre parcel also owned by Epps Bridge Centre LLC and occupied by Hobby Lobby.
The Georgia Supreme Court has received and recorded an appeal of the decision by Oconee Superior Court Judge Lisa Lott in October to dismiss an attempt to force the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration to review challenges filed in July of last year to the registration of 228 Oconee County voters.
Oconee County resident Suzannah Heimel filed a notice of appeal with the Georgia Court of Appeals on Nov. 26 of Judge Lott’s Oct. 24 ruling dismissing Heimel’s case, arguing that Lott had “misinterpreted the law” and “did not give due process of the law to the Petitioner.”
Beth McIntyre, currently executive director of the Piedmont Regional Library System, will become executive director of the Athens Regional Library System effective March 17.
The Athens Regional Library System Board of Trustees on Thursday selected McIntyre after a search by its Personnel Committee to replace Valerie Bell, who stepped down as executive director of the Athens Regional Library System at the end of last year.
The Oconee County Library Board of Trustees on Monday approved the placement of a sculpture by Lawrence Stueck, a Watkinsville environmental sculptor and art teacher, at the Oconee County Library in Wire Park.
The artwork, labeled “You Are Here,” is multidimensional to reflect the intersection of the United States, Georgia, and Oconee County.
From the very beginning of the Oconee County Board of Education meeting on Monday evening, there was no doubt whom the Board was going to elect as its new chair.
When the five Board members, one after the other, entered the Board public meeting room from the smaller executive board meeting room, Ransom took the chair position, next to Superintendent Jason Branch.
Oconee County School Board Member Michael Ransom said he contacted Board members Amy Parrish and Ryan Hammock before he decided to announce on Jan. 2 that the Board intends to opt out of the statewide homestead exemption approved by voters on Nov. 5.
Ransom said he made the opt out decision after the Dec. 9 meeting of the Board and that he received the approval of Parrish and Hammock for the decision.
Oconee County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved Tony Townley’s request for rezones for a 120-lot residential subdivision on 300 acres north of Hog Mountain Road between Rocky Branch and Hodges Mill roads.
It also approved, again unanimously, a request by Dixon Family Trust of 2012 for a special use allowing the Trust to add 10 rental cabins on part of 356 acres it owns that front on Hog Mountain and Lane Creek roads.
The Oconee County Board of Education does not intend to join in a homestead exemption approved overwhelmingly by voters--statewide and in Oconee County--in November that would limit increases in the assessed value of property that is a homestead.
Taxing authorities in the state are allowed to opt out of what is referred to as a floating homestead exemption based on inflation designed to limit increases in the assessed value and tax of homestead property.
