Jones County Commissioners had more good news for taxpayers at the conclusion of last week’s meeting with a rollback of the tax rate.
The Aug. 20 meeting was called to order by Board of Commissioners Chairman Chris Weidner, and Jones County CFO Lavita Crutchfield led the opening prayer and pledge. All commissioners attended the meeting.
The adoption of the millage rate was the final item of new business on the agenda.
County Administrator Jason Rizner went over the tax rates, which are different for the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Jones County. The incorporated area is simply Gray’s city limits.
Rizner gave the proposed mill rate for the incorporated area as 16.070, which is a 1.471 mill rollback from 2023. The proposed rate for the unincorporated area was 14.702, a 1.269 rollback from the previous year.
The reason for the rollback was the increase in the values of many properties during recent evaluations by the tax assessors’ office. The increase for properties was projected to average 20 percent.
Commissioner Daylon Martin made the motion to adopt the proposed tax rates, and the motion was approved unanimously.
The first item on the meeting’s agenda was the county’s Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) grant. Middle Georgia Regional Commission Director of Planning & Public Administration Greg Boike talked about the grant received by Jones County in 2023. He said the grant was in the amount of $400,000. Boike said the paperwork has been done, and the program is now at the point to accept applications.
“It’s a countywide grant, which means everyone in Jones County is eligible if they meet the income requirements,” he said.
The director said he received word earlier that the first application had been received.
Boike’s question for the board members was for direction. He said the county had a list of applicants from last year.
“Do you want to use the old list or start over?” he asked.
Boike said there was no shortage of property owners wanting help, and he needed to know the priorities of the commissioners.
Martin said there were 50 names on the previous list. He suggested dividing the funds among applicants to get ‘more bang for the buck.’
Commissioner John Wood said he agreed and wanted to help as many people as possible.
Kitchens asked if there were criteria for the work. Boike said if a property is accepted, expectations were that it would be returned to livable condition. He said criteria could be set, such as the age of a home. He said a project amount limit could also be set.
Commissioner Wendy Vaughn said she sits on the board of the Middle Georgia Community Action Agency. She asked if they could help with items like weatherization, which is one of their projects.
Boike said yes, the agencies could work together.
Weidner asked what other communities do about applications, and the director said he has seen it done both ways. He said most counties do update the information.
“That’s a great question, but there is no clear answer,” Boike said.
Martin suggested reaching out to the first 20 on the previous list and give them time to respond.
Kitchens asked if the information could be put in a spreadsheet as far as the need.
Martin asked when the grant funding would end, and Boike said 2026.
“It might be a good idea to reactivate the GICH team before the next grant application,” the director said.
Boike also explained that most CHIP grants serve six to eight homes. He said the process to get a property to the point of getting the work done is pretty extensive. “$20,000 does not go as far as you might think,” he added.
Martin made a motion to start to process and limit the projects to $40,000.
Wood said he sees most of the projects being for things like roofs, windows and doors.
The vote to approve the motion was unanimous.
Clerk of the Board Shannon Wagner brought up an issue of a business on Shurling Drive whose beer and wine license had been temporarily revoked due to violations.
The license was approved by the board in June, but the vote had been previously postponed due to questions by commissioners.
Jones County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Gerry Nelson spoke to the board explaining the reason the beer and wine license had been revoked. He also had questions about two additional licenses held by the same business owner.
Nelson said the sheriff’s office received complaints about the business selling distilled spirits with only a beer and wine license.
“They even posted on Facebook a special on shots of Tequilla,” he said.
The lieutenant said there were other violations as well. He said those violations were documented by undercover officers and included selling alcohol to underage persons.
“We took their license and were at a loss about how they got the Jones County license. The owner of the license lives in Bibb County,” he said.
County Attorney Ashley Brodie said the license had been temporarily revoked, and the owner would need to appear before the board. She said the question before the board was about the owner’s other two licenses.
Vaughn made the motion to suspend the other two licenses, and her motion was unanimously approved.
Brodie said the license owner would receive a notice to appear at the next commission meeting.
Martin said the vote should set a precedent that, anytime a license is suspended, it will suspend all the owner’s licenses.
JCSO Chief Deputy Earl Humphries talked to the board about a federal grant received for a K-9 officer and vehicle. The grant was in the amount of $62,000. He said they initially thought it was only for the cost of the purchases.
He said two weeks ago they received an update that the funds could be used to equip the vehicle. The chief said the money goes away at the end of the month, which means they have been struggling with the time limits.
He said now that there is additional money, there is no time to rebid the purchase. Humphries asked that the process be waived to purchase an equipped vehicle they have found.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens asked if the vehicle could be found using the state contract, and the chief said the vehicle they’ve identified is less than the state contract price.
Vaughn made the motion to waive the bid process for the purchase, and the motion was approved unanimously.
Jones County Water Superintendent Brandon Stark requested permission for the department to purchase a backhoe. He said the water department has three older model backhoes, and two of them do not work.
Stark asked to purchase a John Deere 320 and said the money is already in his budget.
Martin made the motion to approve, and the vote was unanimous.
The only item of Old Business on the agenda was postponed to a later meeting.
The meeting was adjourned to enter into closed session.
The next scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners is 6 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Jones County Government Center.
