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Commissioners make appointments, consider request for tax debt release Annual appointments to various boards and an application for release of a tax debt took most of the time in a short meeting of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners last Thursday, June 12. Fred Brown, who is a Wilkes County property owner that maintains his homestead in Cobb County, for a number of years has purchased his vehicle tags here. He claimed he did not know he was doing anything wrong and said, "I wanted my money to come down here anyway." Cobb County notified Brown that he owed the taxes on those three vehicles at the Cobb millage rate (about $2,100) for the past seven years and Brown subsequently filed to get his money back from Wilkes County. County Attorney Charles LeGette explained that while the Board has the authority to grant the release and refund, legally it can go back only three years. "There is some concern that this is something you created unknowingly and is not the result of any error by the tax assessor or our tax commissioner," LeGette explained. After some discussion about how the situation came to be, LeGette continued. "Mr. Brown, we're proud you're connected to Wilkes County," he said, "We would like for you to just come on down here and bring your homestead and register to vote here." LeGette pointed out that the three-year amount that could legally be refunded by Wilkes County was $542 but ultimately recommended against it. Brown pointed out that he had been buying his tags here for 11 years before he purchased his property in Cobb County and then just continued to do so. He also said that tax rates had nothing to do with his choice to buy tags in Wilkes County. "There is a number of people who buy tags here that may not have good proof of residency, but this board must maintain consistency in how it deals with these matters," he said. "As much as we want you here," he continued, "I must recommend that we not grant this relief because the county has not done anything wrong." The commissioners voted to deny the request and Brown graciously thanked them for their time and consideration. All of the commissioners were present at the regular June meeting of the board. They are Divenski Lee, Donna Hardy, Chairman Sam Moore, John Howard, and Jerry Stover. Also present were County Administrator David Tyler, LeGette, and a number of visitors and participants. Appointment to various boards included all reappointments with no new people involved, as follows: Airport Commission - Harris Blackmon, Bill Robinson, and Jerry Stover were reappointed to two-year terms. Family and Children Services - Minnie Evans was reappointed to a five-year term. Hardy commented that Evans has been on the board for a number of years "and has done an outstanding job. She deserves a pat on the back for the work she has done there." Georgia Forestry Board - Lewis Brown was reappointed to a fiveyear term. Library Board - Eva Burdette was reappointed to a four-year term. Wilkes County Planning Commission - Marvin McAvoy, Ed Geddings, Randolph Wilkerson, and Cindy Bounds were reappointed to ..................four-year terms. Tax Assessors Board - Greg Colvard was reappointed to a three-year term. In other business: l The commissioners voted to extend the trash-hauling contract on the same terms for seven years. l Tyler reported that Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in the amount of $106,602.20 had been received for the month of March and that $69,680.59 in Local Option Sales Tax had been received for the same month. l Moore announced that there would be a special called meeting of the board for the purpose of adopting the county budget on Monday, June 23, at 5 p.m. in the Board room at the courthouse. l Chief Deputy Mike Sisson offered his congratulations to Deputy Jamie Bridges who just graduated from Troy University with a Masters Degree. l Tourism Director and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ashley Barnett reported on a number of planned activities coming up in the next few weeks. l Moore reported that a request for bids on a new roof for the Senior Center had just gone out. l Moore also reported that work on improvements at Holliday Park were set to begin on Monday, June 16. l It was announced that Washington and Wilkes County Community Day would be held by the Augusta Green Jackets baseball team on August 2.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be held on Thursday, July 10, at 7 p.m.
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