Oconee County, GA Politics

Weather permitting; resurfacing of Harris Shoals Park Road will begin Monday August 29 th .   The project is expected to be completed by Friday, September 02.   The park will remain open during the work; however, the availability of parking will be limited and road construction equipment will be operating within the park during the hours of 7:00 AM and 6:00PM.   If you chose to visit the park during these times, please exercise caution. The City appreciates your understanding and patience over the last few months as we have endeavored to make Watkinsville’s Harris Shoals Park a prettier park than before.   Except for some incidental items like additional picnic tables and personal grills, the road work should be the last big project for the park.   These improvements were made possible by revenue received through the Special Local Option Sales Tax ( SPLOST).     

By nearly identical 2-1 resounding ratios, the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax passed (1039 to 400) and Michael Ward defeated Janet Jones (60 to 31) in Bogart in the special election Tuesday night in Oconee County, Georgia. The biggest shocker on this St. Patrick's Day Tuesday evening is that once again we are teased with the prospect of leaving Madison County itinerant State Senator Ralph Hudgens behind us as he claims he is running for State Insurance Commissioner, currently held by John Oxendine who is running for Governor rather poorly at the moment.

Go vote today if you live in Oconee County for the SPLOST referendum (essentially another penny on every dollar of purchases in Oconee to help our towns and projects through the unincorporated areas as well) or especially if you are a resident of the municipality of Bogart (which stretches into a tiny portion of Clarke as well) where there is a race between two candidates to replace Mayor Terri Glenn. Those candidates are Janet Jones and Michael Ward and I salute them both for having the nerve to serve as an elected official, a thankless task if there every was one. Just ask David Weeks . Thanks to Adam Thompson for writing the story in today's paper to remind me of this important municipal election in Bogart . Adam was treated poorly twice by a copy editor demon on Saint Patrick's Day. Must be that red hair. Happy St. Patrick Day, by the way.

Lee and Tony are good people and their opinions should be held in high esteem and regard. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:22:49 -0700 From: southoconee@yahoo.com Subject: SPLOST vote To: aglenn@uga.edu I'm chiming in with some others to remind everyone to vote on the SPLOST referendum.  If you haven't voted already, please do so tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17th.   If you want to review some details associated with the SPLOST, I point you to Lee Becker's blog: http://www.oconeecountyobservations..blogspot.com/ .  Lee references other sources of info as well.   Here are some relevant details I've taken from Lee's posting on this issue.   -  County voters first approved SPLOST taxes in 1985, after the Georgia General Assembly authorized the tax that year, and they have approved renewal taxes in 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, and 2003.   -  These monies have been used for Heritage Park on U.S. 441 in the sout...

I would well imagine that many voters in Oconee County, Georgia are becoming less and less enamored with their government after the last six months of secretive and buffoonish behavior on behalf of some of our less distinguished leaders. I was all set to let their ridiculous actions on everything from playing hide the court house and molesting softball coach to paying two superintendents at a time to lets remove the airport from control of Atlanta to a variety of other ills cloud my judgment and persuade my into voting against the SPLOST proposals on face value just as my way to thumb my nose back at the poor performance of Oconee County Board of Commissioners chair G. Melvin Davis, Oconee County Board of Education Chair David Weeks and State Rep. Bob Smith. None of these folks are above blame or reproach. But one curious thing happened which changed my point of view: the municipalities are finally getting their share of the SPLOST pie . So that means that the county seat of Watkinsvil...

Lee Becker informs us about what will be on the next SPLOST ballot March 17 here in Oconee County. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: SPLOST Ballot Language Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:39:18 -0500 From: Lee Becker <lbbecker@mindspring.com> Reply-To: lbbecker@mindspring.com To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, The ballot language for the March 17 election shows the wish list that voters will see when they cast their votes on the next SPLOST. The financial reports released to the Commissioners on Jan. 26 tell a lot about what has been done with money from the current SPLOST-- and what has not been done. Details, as usual, are http://www.oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com/ Lee -- Lee Becker Blog: www.oconeecountyobservations.blogspot.com Web: http://lbbecker48.googlepages.com/

UGA PR prof and Oconee County Observations blogger Lee Becker once again scoops the mainstream media with details on the March 17 referendum allowing our illustrious and well educated voters to decide if we want to keep coming up with an extra penny for the next six years. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: SPLOST Vote Set Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:15:53 -0500 From: Lee Becker <lbbecker@mindspring.com> Reply-To: lbbecker@mindspring.com To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, The Oconee County Board of Commissioners has taken the final two steps needed to give voters a chance to decide to reduce local sales taxes by a penny on the dollar or to continue paying that tax for another six years. The Board has approved an intergovernmental agreement with the county's four cities and set the election for March 17, 2009. The county also ...

You can attend this and maybe hear the local returns quicker than anybody (although they will be on the internet just as quickly), Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Thanks as always Lee for the excellent update on further possible shenanigans with the Oconee County Board of Commissioners.  Subject: Tomorrow's BOC Meeting    Dear Daniells Bridge Road Petition Signer,    The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to deal with three very  important issues at its regular meeting tomorrow night:    1. A decision to put a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax on the  ballot in March.    2. A decision on a rezone just east of the blind curve on Daniells  Bridge Road.    3. A decision on how to expand sewage treatment capacity in the county.    If the Board decides to ask voters to approve the continuation of the 1  cent on a dollar sales tax rather than let it expire at the end of 2009,  it also will decide how...

SPLOST or Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax is a way governments fund project with projected future revenues. Here is an article posted early this morning about the Oconee County Board of Commissioners setting priorities for expenditures in the near future.

Dr. Glenn says go, and that is good enough for me (although I have plans already) please let me know you impressions of what happens if you attend. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:20:09 -0800 From: southoconee@yahoo.com Subject: BOC meeting tonight: SPLOST and other agenda items To: aglenn@uga.edu I apologize for the short notice, but hopefully you've seen some of the press coverage concerning the SPLOST renewal that the county is considering.   The actual vote on the SPLOST by the citizens of Oconee County will come in March 2009, but the allocation of the revenue generated from the six-year S pecial P urpose Local O ption S ales T ax will be decided now by the Board of Commissioners. Below is the agenda for tonight's BOC meeting.  There are several items on the agenda of long-term impact in addition to the SPLOST (waste water treatment, Daniells Bridge Road concept plan, ambulance service). If you haven't followed the SPLOST ...

Lee Becker once again is ahead of the curve in the local media in anticipating local government action and reaction. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lee Becker < lbbecker@mindspring.com > Date: Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 10:54 PM Subject: SPLOST Upcoming To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, In the next two weeks, the Board of Commissioners will fashion a tax sales tax package it hopes you will approve in March of 2009. The county has come to depend on the "special purpose" sales tax to fund lots of routine activities and to pay off debt for projects approved far in the past. Some local citizens think part of the county's pitch for the continuation of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) should be some local projects the county has so far ignored, such as historic and scenic site and farmland protection. For a primer on the upcoming SPLOST and the key meetings on Nov. 20, Nov. 25 and Dec. 2, go to my blog at http://www.oconeecoun...

Already looking toward our next election....thanks Lee ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lee Becker < lbbecker@mindspring.com > Date: Fri, Oct 17, 2008 at 11:06 PM Subject: SPLOST and Ballot Amendments To: lbbecker@mindspring.com Dear Friends, While many voters are still focused on the Nov. 4 election, the County is about to launch a campaign to get voters to approve a renewal of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) of 1 cent on the dollar at a special election on March 17, 2009. The first of two public information sessions on the proposed SPLOST renewal will be on Oct. 21, and it will be followed by a second on Nov. 3. Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m. at the Oconee County Civic Center on Hog Mountain Road. Local Farmland Protection Advocate Russ Page has launched a campaign to get farmland protection included in the SPLOST allocations. I've explained the schedule for the SPLOST campaign, Russ' work at including Farmland Protection...

The Mayor of Watkinsville Jim Luken took Oconee County Chairman G. Melvin Davis to task for keeping Oconee County municipalities such as the county seat, Farmington, Bishop and Bogart frozen out of the local special purpose sales tax projects at the Forum Monday night at the Library, according to an article written by Adam Thompson of the Athens Banner-Herald. Others seemed more interested in why Davis supported convicted felon Jim Ivey in his trial and subsequent sentencing for stealing more than $30,000.00 in funds designated for the construction of a Veterans Memorial monument in the new park. Tonight there will be a Forum for the candidates for the Board of Education at the Library