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HOME AT THE DAM
The Broad River Soil and Water Conservation
District (BRSWCD) maintains that this house next to a Madison
County earthen dam off Still O'Kelly Road interferes with the
group's maintenance of the watershed structure. But a judge recently
ruled that homeowner Mark Stricklett may keep the house where
it is. Pictured (L-R) are BRSWCD members Barbarianne Gaulding-Russell,
Carol Matthews and Dale Brubaker.
Photo by Zach Mitcham
Pay increases shot
down
BOC denies raises for three offices, weeks
after approving boosts for two departments
BY ZACH MITCHAM
The Madison County commissioners turned down requests from three
county officials Monday for pay increases for their employees.
The denials came weeks after the board approved raises for employees
in the offices of the probate judge and clerk of court.
Kerry Bryant, chairman of the board of tax assessors; Louise
Watson, tax commissioner; and Harry Rice, magistrate judge; all
asked the commissioners for raises for their employees Monday.
Each was turned down and visibly frustrated with the board's
vote.
"Our people aren't important enough to get our raises,"
said Bryant after the board rejected his request for an approximately
$2,800 raise for chief appraiser Chuck Anglin in the tax assessor's
office. That increase would bring Anglin in line with the state
average for that position in similar sized Georgia counties,
Bryant said.
"If we lose him, we can't just hire a chief appraiser off
the street," Bryant said. "I think he's underpaid and
should be brought up to the state level."
A clerk in the tax assessor's office would also receive a yearly
pay increase of about $750 under Bryant's proposal, which he
added would require a shifting of funds in the department's budget
and no additional money from the county.
But board members sat silent when asked for a motion on the increases.
Commissioner Patsy Pierce, who voted against the pay scale recently
implemented by the county, said the board should follow the plan.
"I feel we need to live with it," said Pierce, who
mentioned more than once that length of service to the county
should be a primary consideration in raises.
Pierce and commissioner Nelson Nash voted against the county
pay scale passed on Dec. 13, while Melvin Drake, Bill Taylor
and Bruce Scogin voted for the pay system, which sets pay rates
for county positions based on a salary study of similar jobs
in comparable-sized Georgia counties.
Two weeks later, Pierce, commissioner Nash, Drake and Scogin
voted for $7,000 in pay increases for employees in the clerk
of court's office for 2000.
Then on Jan. 10, the commissioners approved $6,000 in raises
for full-time employees in the probate judge's office. Pierce,
Drake and commissioner Nash voted for those increases, while
Taylor and Scogin opposed the action.
Scogin asked Judge Rice whether the BOC approval of raises for
employees in the clerk of court and probate offices had anything
to do with the timing of pay raise requests for his employees.
Rice admitted that the recent increases were a motivating factor.
"They (magistrate court employees) are as important to me
as they (probate and clerk of court employees) are to them (Judge
Donald Royston and Clerk Michelle Strickland)," said Rice,
who asked for approximately $1,200 in increases. "These
requests are less than those that were awarded."
Watson, whose request for the establishment of another full-time
position in her office was approved by the board, asked for approximately
$3,400 in increases for her employees, whom she said offer polite
and timely service to county residents.
After the board refused her proposal, the tax commissioner made
her frustrations clear.
"I'm really disappointed that these increases are not being
granted," she said. "It's a disjustice for my department."
Board members agreed they've "opened a can of worms"
with the pay situation, which appears unfair to many. But they
disagreed on how the current problems arose - whether it was
the passage of a heavily-criticized pay plan or the approval
of pay raises for two offices - increases board chairman Wesley
Nash said would clearly undermine the recently established pay
system.
'Move that house'
Four-year fight over home by Madison Co.
dam lingers
BY ZACH MITCHAM
Members of a local conservation group led reporters to the top
of a an earthen dam in Madison County Thursday, not to admire
the pretty view of the water below, but to show the public a
home they feel is in the path of disaster, a house they want
moved.
But the owner of the property, Mark Stricklett, said the group's
press conference is just a form of harassment against him. A
judge has ruled that Stricklett may keep his home in its current
location. And the landowner believes continued action against
him is politically motivated.
Before hiking up a dirt path to the top of the dam, the Broad
River Soil and Water Conservation District (BRSWCD) board members
met at the Ila Restaurant Thursday with local media, outlining
the group's ongoing legal battle with Stricklett. BRSWCD members
say their success in forcing Stricklett to relocate his home
may save lives, while allowing the state to maintain the "integrity
of soil and water conservation easements" throughout Georgia
- there are 357 similar dam structures in Georgia in 19 conservation
districts, with over 3,500 easements.
The legal battle centers on the placement of a home off of Still
O'Kelly Road. According to the Broad River group, Stricklett
took 63 feet of dirt off the end of the dam in 1995 and constructed
a house within the dam's spillway and flood pool, where the conservation
district holds a perpetual easement.
A judge recently ruled in Stricklett's favor, but the BRSWCD
has appealed the case to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Animal shelter
may sit next to landfill
BY ZACH MITCHAM
A Madison County animal shelter next to the county landfill may
be in the works.
The Madison County Board of Commissioners agreed to allow commission
chairman Wesley Nash to search for a building site on land next
to the landfill off of Colbert-Danielsville Road.
Nash said he will ask local engineering consultant Charlie Armentrout
to aid in the search. District 5 commissioner Bruce Scogin will
also assist in the project.
Chairman Nash said the Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter Committee
has raised about $55,000 for a shelter, with pledges for more
money expected.
"There's a fair amount of money," said Nash. "And
I'd like to move forward with the project."
Nash said Oglethorpe County is interested in paying fees for
use of the facility. But he said Elbert County is no longer interested
in a partnership.
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