Gilmer County commissioners will take public comment on two things that hit local households directly on Thursday, Aug. 13: a proposed ordinance regulating river outfitting on the county's unincorporated stretches of water, and the county's proposed millage rates. Both sessions are at the Gilmer County Community Center, 824 Industrial Boulevard in Ellijay. The tax rate comes first at 5 p.m., the river ordinance at 5:30 p.m., and the board's regular meeting starts at 6 p.m.
The draft is posted on the county website under "Important Ordinances, Documents, Notices" as Chapter 40, Public Access River Outfitting in Unincorporated Areas of Gilmer County (Proposed). Anyone planning to speak Thursday should read it first. It is a PDF, and it is the actual language the board would be voting on, not a summary.
What the river committee has been pushing
The county's River Committee, which includes outfitters, law enforcement and private citizens, has spent years working through the same short list of problems at the take-out. Its recommendations have centered on:
- Marked loading areas at the take-out, and enough cleared space that vehicles can get in and out without being blocked.
- Replacing the wristband requirement with a hand stamp, matched to sequentially numbered signed forms so the per-person count can be tracked.
- County access to observe outfitter operations happening on county property.
- A sheriff's deputy posted at the river on weekends during the season, aimed at alcohol and trespassing complaints.
If you have ever waited in a line of trucks and trailers on a Saturday afternoon while a shuttle unloaded, the loading-area piece is the part of this ordinance you will actually feel.
The week's schedule
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Wed., Aug. 12, 9 a.m. | Commissioners work session |
| Thu., Aug. 13, 5 p.m. | Public comment: proposed millage rates |
| Thu., Aug. 13, 5:30 p.m. | Public comment: river outfitting ordinance |
| Thu., Aug. 13, 6 p.m. | Regular meeting |
All four are at the Community Center on Industrial Boulevard. The Wednesday work session is where commissioners typically talk through items in detail before they reach a vote, and it is open to the public even though there is no comment period built into it.
The tax side of the night
The county's calendar lists the 5 p.m. session simply as "Proposed Millage Rates." The specific rates go with the agenda for that meeting, which the county posts on its events page. The millage rate is the multiplier applied to your assessed value, so a change of a few tenths of a mill moves the bottom line on every property tax bill in the county.
Do not confuse the county rate with the school rate. They are set by two different boards. The Gilmer County Board of Education has already tentatively adopted a rate of 9.121 mills, an increase of 0.333 mills over the rollback figure of 8.788, which the district's notice describes as a 3.79 percent property tax increase. The district put the effect at roughly $56.62 more on a home with a fair market value of $425,000, and about $26.64 on nonhomestead property valued at $200,000.
The school board's own hearings are on Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Aug. 19 at 6 p.m., at the Gilmer County Schools Administrative and Technology Office, 134 Industrial Blvd. Same street, different building, different taxing authority.
What happens after Thursday
Public comment on an ordinance is not the vote. The board hears residents, then decides whether to move the draft forward, amend it, or send it back. Commission Chairman Charlie Paris and commissioners Karleen Ferguson and John Marshall make up the three-member board. The next regular meeting after Aug. 13 is Sept. 10 at 6 p.m., again at the Community Center, with a work session Sept. 8 at 9 a.m.
Agendas for all of it, including the Aug. 13 documents, are posted on the county's meetings and events calendar. Residents who need an accommodation to attend are asked to call the county at 706-635-4361 ahead of time.
Reading up before you go beats guessing in the parking lot. More local government coverage is at Ellijay Georgia Community Website, and you can browse related stories on our government and politics and community pages.
Going to the hearing, or have a take on the take-out? Join the conversation in our Community Forum and tell your neighbors what you heard.
---END---Header photo: Brian McInturff / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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