GOVERNMENT

STEPHENS COUNTY, G.A. (FOX Carolina) - The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said an earthquake was reported in Georgia on Wednesday. According to the USGS, the 2.4 magnitude earthquake hit an area near Eton at 8:57 p.m. It had a depth of 9 kilometers. Officials say the earthquake was 5.8...

Rabun County is looking to hire a Zoning Technician. This is a full-time position with benefits and a salary of $31,549 per year. Are you detail-oriented with a passion for ensuring community development aligns with regulatory standards? Join the Rabun County team as a Zoning Technician and play a vital role in supporting the county’s growth and compliance efforts. Interested candidates should submit their application to the Board of Commissioners Office. For inquiries, contact HR Director Linda Ramey at [email protected]. Join in shaping the future of Rabun County through responsible zoning practices. Apply today and be a part of this dynamic team.

The Rabun County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the 2025 SPLOST at their regular July monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, says Chairman Greg James. “This is the eighth SPLOST in a row, which SPLOST stands for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and that is 1% sales tax that the county and the cities use to supplement property taxes to give us revenue to get things done.” James said every part of Rabun County benefits from SPLOST. “This community has supported SPLOST for a long time and it’s great that we have every municipality as well as the county on board. Since everybody is on board we are fortunate that this will be a six-year SPLOST versus a five-year SPLOST.” Rabun County citizens vote on the SPLOST, said James. “We don’t invoke a 1% sales tax ourselves but it does give the opportunity to get it on the ballot this fall and give the opportunity for all the citizens via the referendum to determine if they want to approve SPLOST for the next six years.” James added that much of the SPLOST money is generated by visitors to the county. “I think it very important to note that 70% of SPLOST dollars generated come from outside of Rabun County. That’s seven out of ten dollars and this helps ensure that Rabun County remains in the top ten counties in the state of Georgia with the lowest property taxes.” Rabun County voters will cast ballots on the 2025 SPLOST on November 5, 2024.

ALL PROPERTY (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, vacant land, etc.) will be included in this appraisal process. This process is in compliance with GA Code 560 – 11 – 10 - .09 which states: “All real property parcels should be physically inspected at least every three years to ascertain that property information records are current.”

The Walhalla Downtown Development Corporation (DDC) board unanimously approved a $3,000 façade grant last week for upgrades to the former fire station at 103 E. Main St. This grant, the maximum allowed, will help fund the installation of two new custom doors but will not cover the total estimated cost of $8,431.43. Marcia Spaeth, who bought and is renovating the former fire station, plans to use the space for retail on the ground floor and apartments upstairs. Although the grant stipulates that installation must begin within 45 days and be completed within six months, Spaeth expressed concern about potential delays in door delivery. Consequently, the DDC board extended the timeline to 90 days. Walhalla Mayor Tim Hall was the only board member absent from the meeting.

At the July 22 Meeting of the Toccoa City Commission, commissioners heard the official presentation of the 2024 Downtown Toccoa Parking Study from Toccoa Planning Director Jeremy Ward. Ward outlined the physical vehicle counts conducted by himself and Toccoa Main Street Director Kristen Deal during the months of January through...

More than four years after an EF-3 tornado hit Seneca, city officials are hopeful that the nearly $8 million in approved FEMA reimbursements will be received this year. Seneca Assistant City Administrator Josh Riches reported that the city is awaiting two sets of funds: $3.4 million, of which $2.4 million has been received, and an additional $4.5 million following arbitration with FEMA. Riches expects the remaining $1 million and the $4.5 million to be received by the end of the year. In an unrelated matter, City Administrator Scott Moulder reported that the roof of the former Seneca Middle School is in good condition, which could facilitate the city’s potential purchase of the property for recreational use. The evaluation found no significant concerns, and the matter will be discussed at the next Seneca City Council meeting.

The Oconee County Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved Duke Energy’s request for a variance and special exception to install a new 310-foot communications tower on Rochester Highway in Seneca. The $2.1 million tower will exceed the 250-foot height restriction by 60 feet and is part of Duke Energy’s effort to enhance connectivity and support the county’s future growth and SmartGrid. The new tower, located on Duke’s 159.9-acre site near the Oconee Nuclear Station, will improve point-to-point connections and network performance, support emergency services, and provide potential leasing opportunities for future wireless carriers. Duke Energy’s application highlighted the tower’s role in advancing technology and reliability, with no community opposition reported.

An “air blockage” is delaying the completion of the Sewer South Phase 2 project, which aims to connect sewer service from the Coneross Wastewater Treatment Plant in Seneca to the South Carolina Welcome Center. Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority executive director Chris Eleazer informed the finance and administration...

The Stephens COunty Board of Commissioners will meet at 6 p.m. today, July 23, for a regularly scheduled meeting.The meeting will take place at the Historic Courthouse, 37 West Tugalo Street in Toccoa. Included on the agenda for the meeting is the second reading of proposed changes to the Stephens...

At the July 23 regularly-scheduled meeting of the Stephens County Board of Commissioners, Board members considered and voted on an application from RLP Investments, LLC for rezoning on three parcels of property in order to accommodate planned workforce housing construction. The rezoning requests were placed for two parcels on Racetrack...

Duke Energy received a variance and a special exception for a new communications tower to be located on Oconee nuclear property off SC 130. The county board of zoning appeals cast unanimous votes last night, after a hearing at which no one from the public spoke. Duke will be allowed to extend the height of the tower to 310 feet – 60 feet higher than the county’s height restriction for cell towers. Duke representatives explained should there be a circumstance in which the tower fell it would fall in a folding way and land within the fenced-in property of the plant.

The Habersham County Board of Commissioners approved the FY 2025 budget at a July 22 special called meeting. The FY 2025 budget includes a full rollback of the General Fund millage rate, a 4% compensation adjustment for employees, and the addition of several necessary positions to maintain essential services. Positions approved include six firefighters, three facilities maintenance technicians, one parks maintenance worker, two information technology positions, and two part-time animal shelter technicians. The proposed $39.17 million general fund budget is funded by three revenue streams: approximately 57% from property tax, 19% other taxes, and 24% from grants, service fees, fines, and payments. “We realize times are hard for many people right now, and we have worked to find ways to offer a full millage rollback,” said Habersham County Commission Chairman Ty Akins. “Our citizens have been vocal with their concerns, and we take those concerns seriously and have done our best to hold the line on new spending as much as possible while balancing the demands of a growing county and maintaining the levels of service.” The general fund maintenance and operations millage approved is 11.771 mills, while the hospital debt fund (bond annual payment) is 0.757 mills, and the emergency services millage is 1.275 mills, for an overall county decrease of 0.845 mills. “I want to thank everyone involved in the lengthy process,” Chief Financial Officer Tim Sims said, “from the Commissioners, who continue to work together to come to agreements and move important initiatives forward, to staff, who invested months of hard work to ensure we could roll back the millage rate and present a financially conservative budget to the citizens of Habersham County.”

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster has issued Executive Order 2024-12 appointing Gena Acree as Oconee County Treasurer following the retirement of current Treasurer Gregorie W. Nowell, effective July 26, 2024. Acree, a resident of West Union, S.C., currently works in the Oconee County Auditor’s Office as a senior...