County

Coweta millage rate weathers recessionary storm

The adoption of Coweta County’s 2012 millage rate will be up for a vote by the County Commission on Aug. 21. As it stands now, property owners in the incorporated areas will see the same rate as last year while property owners in the unincorporated will see a small decrease in the millage rate.

County Finance Director Hans Wilson at the Aug. 7 meeting recommended that commissioners maintain the millage rate for the incorporated areas at 7.79 mills. As for the unincorporated areas, Wilson recommended that the rate be decreased by .14 mills, from 6.8 down to 6.66 mills. Read More»

Sen. Chance backs regional transit ‘oversight’ council

State Senator Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone). File photo.

With $3.6 billion in transit money off the table with the failed regional T-SPLOST, state government officials will now turn their eyes toward legislation that would create a regional transit agency for metro Atlanta.

While Fayette County has no transit operations here, there are concerns the county could perhaps be lumped into a regional transit agency, and possibly on the hook for partially funding such an endeavor. Read More»

Fayette may shift funds from west bypass to start east bypass

With the regional T-SPLOST tax defeated, so was the hope for getting full funding for the proposed East Fayetteville Bypass.

A chance remains, however, to steer $12.8 million in federal funding initially planned for the third phase of the West Fayetteville Bypass toward the east bypass. The Fayette County Commission is slated to vote Thursday night to do just that at the recommendation of county staff. Read More»

Election aftermath — New sheriff, runoffs for 2 commission races, T-SPLOST a bust

Advance voting’s paper trail — Elections employees at county headquarters work on the paper printouts from advance voting machines after polls closed on Election Day July 31. Photo/John Munford.

Last week’s primary election is over, with at least one new member elected to the Fayette County commission and to the school board, along with a new county sheriff as Barry Babb unseated incumbent lawman Wayne Hannah. [Editor Cal Beverly opines on "What it all means" here.]

But it’s not over: local voters still have to settle three runoff races on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Read More»

T-SPLOST ‘no’ vote comes with a cost

Voters in Fayette and Coweta counties mirrored the sentiments of voters in the Atlanta Regional Commission and Three Rivers Commission areas on July 31 in just saying “no” to the 10-year regional transportation T-SPLOST proposal. The vote failed Read More»

Fayette approves contracts for West Fayetteville Bypass

Fayette County will spend upwards of $212,000 for engineering services to build a new bridge over Whitewater Creek for the West Fayetteville Bypass and also realign Westbridge Road and replace the existing bridge on Westbridge Road.

The funds will come from the county’s 2003 transportation sales tax. The winning proposal was from Heath & Lineback Engineers Inc., which had the lowest cost of the seven contractors who submitted a bid, county officials said. Read More»

Fayette may ‘roll up’ tax to offset dip of $2.75M

With another steep decline in Fayette County’s tax digest, the Fayette County Commission this Wednesday (Aug. 1) will discuss the possibility of increasing the millage rate to counteract a potential $2.75 million decrease in revenue for its $80.85 million budget.

To counteract that decline, the county would have to increase its millage rate from 5.645 to 6.326 mills. Read More»

BoE Chairman Presberg stands with Hollowell campaigner

BoE Chairman Presberg stands with Hollowell campaigner

The Fayette County political tradition of street-corner campaigning got a new participant Tuesday morning and maybe the start of a new tradition: Cross-party politicking. Leonard Presberg, appointed chairman of the Fayette County Board of Education and a declared Democrat, stands with a sign-carrying supporter of Post 1 Republican school board candidate Scott Hollowell at the busy intersection of Ga. Highway 54 and Peachtree Parkway. Hollowell is running for the open seat being vacated by Janet Smola in the Republican Primary today. Photo/Special.

Coweta Emergency Management ordinance under review

The renewal of the Coweta County Emergency Management Ordinance that was on the Coweta County Commission agenda July 24 was pulled before it could be discussed. The model ordinance required by the Ga. Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) contained some language that county officials questioned and is currently under review for presentation at a later date. Read More»

Frady: County could have shared district voting lawsuit costs with BoE

Fayette County Commission Chairman Herb Frady. Photo/John Munford.

Fayette County Commission Chairman Herb Frady. Photo/John Munford.

Fayette County Commission Chairman Herb Frady has taken exception to the contention of his counterpart at the Fayette County Board of Education, who recently complained about the county’s efforts to fight a federal lawsuit that could drastically change how representatives were elected to both boards. Read More»