Government

Probation, not prison for 1,000s?

A big change could be in store for Georgia’s criminal justice system: a shift by diverting non-violent offenders away from prison and instead toward drug rehabilitation and other supervision programs such as probation.

Some of the recommendations from the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform would also shift the cost burden of incarceration to local communities by raising the thresholds on what constitutes a felony theft or deposit account fraud charge.
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PTC seeks services from county development authority

Peachtree City may soon have a new economic development staffer through a contract arrangement with the Fayette County Development Authority.

The contract, which would pay FCDA $75,000 for one year in return to compensate for that new employee, was scheduled to be considered Read More»

Feb. 6 deadline for registering to vote

Time is running out for those wishing to register to vote in the March 6 presidential preference primary.

The deadline to register for the election is Monday, Feb. 6. After that date, new voters will no longer be eligible to vote in the primary.

There will be plenty of chances to vote in advance of the March 6 election for those who have already made up their minds. In fact, Fayette County voters will have a chance to vote on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the county’s elections office on the second floor of the Stonewall government complex in downtown Fayetteville. Read More»

Audit shows F’ville holding its own

Auditors on Feb. 2 will tell the Fayetteville City Council that the General Fund budget for FY 2011 that ended July 31 shows revenues slightly ahead of expenses. Fayetteville in 2007 anticipated the recession and economic downturn and began making adjustments to personnel and other expenditure area to offset falling revenues.

The Fayetteville General Fund budget accounts for the majority of revenues received and funds expended in the operations of the city, including administration, judicial activities, public safety, public works, housing and development and debt service. Read More»

PTC Council to review repair bids for stormwater pond

Bids to repair a stormwater drainage pond near Robinson and Ebenezer roads will be considered by the Peachtree City Council Thursday night.

The project involves repairing the concrete headwall, which is detached from the outlet pipe and the scour hole at the “toe” of the dam, according to a memo from City Engineer David Borkowski.

The low bidder on the project was Massana Construction from Tyrone at $69,000. The next highest bidder was Crawford Grading and Pipeline at $75,000. Read More»

F’ville Council expected to approve false alarm ordinance, institute fines

It looks as if Fayetteville will get an ordinance aimed at reducing the number of false alarm calls. The City Council on Thursday will hear the second reading of the proposed ordinance and will likely adopt it. The measure also looks to reduce law enforcement costs associated with answering the false alarms since they constituted 80 percent of all alarm calls in 2011. Read More»

Fayette Commission to focus on budget during annual planning meet

Following its workshop meeting today (Feb. 1) at 3:30 p.m., the Fayette County Commission will begin the first part of its annual planning meeting, commonly referred to as the commission’s “retreat.”

It is estimated that the retreat will begin about 4:30 p.m. and last for at least three hours.

County staff will present detailed information about the county’s financial outlook for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. Read More»

F’ville campaign reports: Candidates say they spent $32K

Some candidates’ disclosures seem to confuse expenses, donations

The final state-required campaign disclosure records for the 2011 Fayetteville municipal elections have been filed by the candidates. Read More»

Survey tests tax hike for county recreation

Fayette County residents receiving county water bills are being asked to participate in an online survey on how to address future park and recreation needs.

What is not mentioned in the water bill notice is that three of the final four of the survey’s list of 38 online questions are queries about support for raising county taxes Read More»

Turf wars ahead?

A petition showing support for installing artificial turf fields at all five high schools in Fayette County was in the lobby of McIntosh’s gym last Friday night during the McIntosh-Starr’s Mill basketball games. Photo/Michael Boylan.

High school sports supporters seek $3.2 million from School Board for synthetic turf at all 5 stadiums

A petition drive is underway to gauge community interest for installing synthetic turf at the large athletic fields at all five Fayette high schools.

Supporters are hoping to collect 5,000 signatures in a bid to have the estimated $3.2 million cost added to the next education sales tax program proposed by the school board, said organizer Sally Herman, a parent of two lacrosse players at McIntosh High. Read More»