Gilmer County commissioner’s regular meeting turned into a two-issue public comment period.
Several citizens used the opportunity to voice their opinion on the upcoming millage rate for the county. Other participants talked about short-term rental regulation.
“I assume there are going to be a lot of people wanting to say a lot of things,” said Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris at the beginning of the public hearing on the millage rate.
He asked people to limit their comments so everyone could speak.
In a two-to-one vote at a July 26 meeting, the Gilmer County Board of Commissioners voted to maintain last year’s millage rate of 5.5 mils. Paris voted against keeping the same millage rate.
By Georgia state law, the board has to advertise this as a tax increase since the value of taxable property in the county went up. Three public hearings must be held before final adoption of the rate.
Ten people spoke during the comment period about the millage rate. The majority were not in favor of the millage rate being maintained. They argued taxes are too high already.
Joene DePlancke Rueckert objected to the commissioners not using the rollback rate.
She said values could have been reduced if the county was allowed to use foreclosures during the calculation of the tax digest and values.
Building the courthouse is also something she said she is still unhappy about since the bonds to pay off the construction hinders the county’s ability to provide more services.
Rueckert said she maintains a cottage for canning and gardening. She complained about increasing taxes on the building.
She said commissioners should eliminate the bond millage rate, which is being reduced to .75 mils, and they should take the rollback rate.
Dave Bennett said he walks his dog in Rover Park every day and it is just fine. He wanted to know why Post Commissioner Hubert Parker thought parks and rec was in dire need.
Parker said parents of children in the park and rec programs voiced their concerns over various needs.
“We need lots of things, but is it something we really need or is it something nice to need,” he said. “I don’t know of any real emergency things that I am aware of. I come to almost every one of these meetings, that we really have to have that we can’t afford to have.”
He pointed to the pool and said the board saved the money for the construction over several years.
Brady West said he grew up in the county and he agreed with almost everything being said by the speakers. He said he did not envy the board for their job.
“When you look at our county next to the surrounding counties, if you look at Pickens, Dawson and Lumpkin, how does our millage rate compare to theirs,” he asked. “It is a whole lot lower.”
West said he was one of the people who spoke about the needs for the park and rec department during the meetings.
“I hate taxes worse than anybody,” he said.
He said next year, the commissioners should show what they did with the extra revenue to prove to taxpayers it was needed.
“We can’t cut taxes and run on a budget to the detriment of our programs and our services offered in our county,” he said.
Some speakers, including West, asked commissioners to look at ways of raising revenue from tourism.
During the portion of the meeting dealing with short-term rentals, Laurel Johnson from Cherry Log had many policy suggestions for commissioners. She talked about caps on the number of rentals and possible requirements for 30-day rentals instead of short term.
She also said the board should pass an ordinance reinforcing neighborhood covenants.
Wayne Johnson, who speaks frequently about the nuisance being caused by short-term renters, gave another anecdote of a renter who walked past several ‘no trespass’ signs and argued he was on a public road.
He told another story of renters shooting firearms toward Rock Creek Road.
Johnson told commissioners something should be done to curtail the behavior. He said deputies take 20 to 30 minutes to respond when called, and by then the problem has abated.