Would you favor lowering the millage rate to offset some of the high assessments?
Absolutely. A lot of the politicians throughout the whole state don’t understand how to do the millage rate and it is a simple mathematical thing.
Where would you look in the county budget to make cuts?
A combination of budget cuts — 15 to 20 percent. Go to the non-public safety departments and make them cut their budgets 15 to 20 percent and you can lower your millage rate.
What are your thoughts on the $5.3 million fire training facility?
I would look at that and see where the costs have risen, but I am in favor of building that fire training center.
What about long-term debt the county has, should some of that be put on hold?
Yes. We have an empty warehouse over there and roads. We need to focus on what is already there.
Would you vote for pay raises for county employees?
I’ve got a plan to do an end-of-year pay adjustment. You give one to one and a half percent raise at the beginning of the year and depending on how they operate during the year on the budget, if they stay under the budget, then you give them an end-of-the-year pay adjustment right before Christmas.
What about insurance costs? Would you be in favor of county employees paying a larger share?
I would be in favor of bidding out health insurance because there are other companies that will come in and bid. I’d be in favor of bidding it out.
Do you support state sales tax instead of property tax?
I’m a “fair tax” person. I looked at that plan and there are some glitches in there that I don’t like. If we could make it where the county would have no problem receiving their funds, I would have no problem with it. That is my biggest worry — that the counties wouldn’t get it.
As you campaign across the county, what are the top two issues you here about?
Number one is the taxes. Number two is that a lot of people are looking at the growth patterns — especially the farmers. They put a subdivision out between two farms and all of a sudden, the farmer pays more taxes. To me, that is one of the biggest problems.
Do you favor extending agriculture breaks for farmers?
Yes. That is our biggest business in Jackson County. Our biggest business is agriculture and we’re taxing them out. Everybody is talking about bringing business in. We have a business here and we are taxing them out.
Do you think agriculture provides a lot of jobs in Jackson County?
I believe it is the future. It could provide a lot of jobs. I think that is the future of our Hwy. 441 area in Nicholson and Commerce.
Do you support extending more property tax breaks for senior citizens?
I think Tommy Benton did a good thing bringing that up, but I don’t think he went far enough. I’ve been with a lot of senior citizens in the last six months from all parts of the county. I’ve actually had a lot of them say that when the economy gets better, they are selling their house and moving from Jackson County. That would be a travesty for our county. Seniors spend more money in the county than the younger folks. The younger folks go out of the county to work and before, they come home, they are buying their stuff. The seniors shop at the local places. They are providing more of the ELOST, SPLOST and LOST that we have. I think we haven’t gone far enough. They pay a lot of taxes. Some people think they should pay school taxes forever. I don’t believe that.
What is the best and worst thing the current BOC has done?
Best — I think they have tried to do some good things and I think some good things have come through. They are finally getting the jail off. They are finally getting the fire training facility off. I don’t know if they have really recruited any businesses here…They have held it to where it is. That is probably their best thing. Worst — I don’t think they actually know how to calculate taxes and the millage rate. I think they have done some spot zoning. That is bad when you are trying to put a land use map in place…They have to stop bending over for the developers. They have to stop that. If we have a regulation that says 100-foot buffer, then there needs to be a 100-foot buffer. That is there for a reason. When you cut it down to 30 foot, that is a huge, huge cut. Now, they want to put the overlay in. Great idea. Wrong time. They should have done it before they put these subdivisions in. Nobody looks at the future.
What about mixed use projects where you have higher density housing and mix commercial and residential?
I think that is up to the cities to do. I don’t believe it is a county thing to do that.
What do you think about allowing higher density to provide more affordable housing?
Jackson County has a lot of affordable housing. We’ve done a survey on it. Our survey shows there is an abundance of homes under $150,000.
As the county grows, how do you see all nine towns working together?
We need to have a lot more cooperation. As chairman, I will go to the council meetings. I will work with the councils. We do a master plan together. The cities know where they want to go in the future. They know where they want to annex…You’ve got to have that working relationship. They seem to be butting heads here, for some reason. The county doesn’t lose a dime by somebody being annexed. In Jefferson and Commerce, they lose the school revenue, but they don’t get the students.
Is this race one of oldtimers vs. newcomers?
No, actually Tony Beatty and I are more on the same page than the other candidate. I grew up in a farm area. I have a sense for that. I’m not a developer. I’m not supported by developers...We (Tony and I) think the same about how the county and how taxes should be. Our opponent says he’s making no promises about taxes. That tells me one thing. I don’t believe the water authority has done the right thing over the past couple years. Blame it on what you want to blame it on…The whole water department has been mismanaged. When the economy slows down, you have to slow down. He said at one forum we only used 14 percent of the water at the reservoir. At another forum, he said it was a cash cow. Why are we doing a study if it’s a cash cow. If it’s got plenty of water and it’s going to be a cash cow, why are we spending money on a water study?
Should the recreation bond be put on the ballot again?
It failed because senior citizens got out and voted against it. They saw another tax increase. That is why it failed. Not because it was recreation. I think recreation is very important to our kids…We are collecting an extra $6.5 million in SPLOST, let’s put that in recreation and then we don’t need a bond.
Why do you want this job?
It is the leader that matters. We need a strong leader. We need somebody that doesn’t have ties to the development group. We need somebody that doesn’t have times to special interest. We need that person. I owe nobody anything.
