Two ordinances may get changes, one proposed for ROW parking
Information flow has changed in Gilmer County, at least who is responsible for filling the requests within the county.
Open records requests for Gilmer County will no longer go through County Clerk Edwina Daman, but instead will be the responsibility of each department head.
“Open records requests are killing us,” said Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris at the board’s work session Sept. 16. “We’ve got one or two folks who will make a request, we will give it to them. If it is not what they like, they make another request. No matter what answer we give them they argue the point and ask for more information.”
Daman said it is a lot of back and forth and would be streamlined if it went to the department heads. She said many counties have changed to going straight to the department head.
Paris said citizens requesting information had to fill out a form when he initially became chair. He stopped the practice.
Now, he said the requests are starting to affect the operation of the county office.
“It is something that is built into the law, and they can make as many and as often as they want,” said Gilmer County attorney David Clark.
The process will have to be posted on the website and guidance given for how to get information, he said. He also said there would have to be some education for the department heads.
“This just seems like a classic case of one bad apple spoiling it for everybody,” Paris said. “Because, it looks to me like we are going to have to revert back to, OK fine, fill out the forms, make it official, go through all that. And I guess it just kind of chaps me.”
Clark chimed in and said the courts have recognized a verbal request as a valid request.
At the regular meeting, which occurred a day earlier than normal, Wednesday, Sept. 17, the vote was unanimous to make department heads responsible for records requests from their departments.
Ordinance changes
A couple of county ordinances will be altered in the near future, and one will be added as Gilmer County commissioners voted to advertise the changes.
Ordinances up for tweaks are ones dealing with short-term rentals and cryptomining, while a ordinance against parking in county rights of way on major arterial roadways will be upcoming.
Votes to advertise these changes were made at the boards regular meeting.
An ordinance covering short-term rentals will see a major change as it will be moved out of the Planning and Zoning Department and made into a stand-alone department. Mary Abernathy will be the director. Bylaws for the short-term rental board were also approved.
Data centers will be added to the cryptomining ordinance and will be governed in the same manner.
Finally, an ordinance which will allow law enforcement to enforce parking restrictions on the public right of way on major county roads will be advertised, with roads which it pertains to, identified.
Clark said it does not happen often, but this would allow deputies to do something about the situation when it happens.
Employee insurance
Gilmer County will only see a 5 percent increase in employee medical insurance costs next year with no changes to vision or dental costs.
Gilmer County Chief Human Resources Officer Patrick Ho told commissioners about the change at their meetings. The increase in costs will come to $263,291.
Before negotiations began, the county was looking at a 14 percent increase in medical alone which equates to a savings of $700,000.