It took two meetings June 17, but the Habersham County Commission finalized and passed its Fiscal Year 2013- 14 budget. The Habersham County Commission essentially decided at a June 17 work session to spare cutting the county’s transit system from the county’s FY 2013-14 budget. A final decision was slated for the commission’s June 17 regular monthly meeting, which followed the work session. Commission Chairman Chad Henderson said he wanted to “point out” the commission “adopts a budget first, based on priorities of a county.” It is later that the commission “adjusts the millage rate, based on the budget,” Henderson said. The final budget number was $22,513,385, as reported by Habersham County Manager Janeann Allison, which reflects a tax increase. Henderson noted the tax assessor’s office has not yet completed its review of the property digest, but there is an estimated 2-3 percent decrease in the value. Property taxes are the primary revenue source for county government. The revised budget commissioners considered at the work session included additional revenue to be generated by a proposed approximately 1 mill increase in property taxes. The decreasing tax digest value also means each mill assessed generates less revenue, Henderson said. While in the past 1 mill produced $1 million, the decline in tax digest value means a mill will produce $541,000 in revenue. The revised budget had “expenditure cuts along with revenue increases,” Henderson said. Henderson noted county expenses increased even as revenue dropped. Just a few years ago, gasoline was “$1.72 a gallon; now it’s $3.53 a gallon,” Henderson said. “Asphalt was $20,000 a road mile, now it’s at $70,000 a road mile.” At public budget hearings June 11 and 13, “citizens told us ‘guys, you’ve got to do a combination of both’” [budget cuts and tax increase], said Commissioner Sonny James. The revised budget commissioners reviewed dropped consideration of budget cuts to the recreation department, which would have closed the pools at the Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center. Commissioners also dropped consideration of funding cuts to county libraries, which would have required limited operating hours at the two branches. Discussion of cutting a position in the sheriff’s office, previously funded by a grant, was also taken off the table after commissioners learned a family violence/child abuse investigator’s position was at stake. “The pools were never taken out of the budget,” Henderson said. “The libraries were never taken out of the budget.” Henderson explained commissioners had been discussing budget line items where expenses could be cut, including transit, libraries, recreation and the sheriff’s office. While transit had been cut in other working versions of the budget, recreation and library expenses had speculatively been juggled to determine if expenses could be cut and a property tax increase prevented. Opinions and concerns expressed at public hearings last week were taken into consideration by commissioners in preparing the final working version of the budget. The hearings produced an outpouring of support for keeping pools open and maintaining the current level of library services. Commissioners were also urged to continue funding the transit system, because users had few other transportation options. Alluding to the hearings, Henderson said “the experience has been very educational. It was a very civil engagement between the people and their government.” The forums let the public know “we are trying our best to listen to the people,” Henderson said. While the county’s transit system, which is also funded by the federal government and costs the county $17,900 annually, was placed back in the budget, James lamented government having to provide the service. “There are so many churches with vans that sit useless five out of seven days of the week,” James said, advocating a mission outreach into the community. “That’s what used to happen in this county,” he said. “Can we have a set route and times, instead of using it like a taxi?” asked Commissioner Natalie Crawford. “Maybe operate it in a more efficient way? “Something has got to be done,” James said. “People expect government to be everything.” Referring to the public hearings, “the main thing I heard was ‘do everything as efficiently as we can,’” Henderson said. “I was extremely touched by some of the pleas we heard [about the transit system],” said Commissioner Andrea Harper. “As of right now I don’t think we can abandon those people.” There were no public comments about the proposed budget during a public hearing at the commission’s regular meeting. “We have sweated over this budget line by line,” Harper said at the second meeting. People [attending public hearings] were surprised by what the county was required to fund and what the county did not have to fund, but was providing the service, Harper said. “It’s not a perfect budget,” Harper said. “It’s a workable budget.” “We have struggled” in producing the budget, James said. “We have cut a lot of expenses. We have increased revenue.” There was no real discussion of the budget during the regular monthly meeting, including no mention of the estimated 1 mill property tax increase. Commissioners approved the budget 4-1, as amended at its work session, with Henderson voting against. “I have no problem with the budget,” Henderson said, when asked about the dissenting vote after the meeting. He took exception with a revenue figure of $341,000 from vehicle title tax assessments, saying he was not sure the amount was accurate. He was afraid the revenue figure had been accounted for twice. “I definitely want to find out if that is the case,” Henderson said. “I think we could have waited to approve the budget,” Henderson said. “I’m not 100 percent comfortable with that number,” Allison told commissioners during the work session. “That does make me a little nervous.” In other budget-related discussion, commissioners: • Heard $10,000 in revenue had been added for fees to be charged insurance companies for fire department response to alarms; • Tentatively approved an additional $3,000 for the Habersham County Senior Center, which lost $7,000 in funding due to sequestration budget cuts in the federal government. While $5,000 was sought, “I would suggest we put in $3,000,” said Commissioner Ed Nichols, with Crawford and James echoing support; • Generally discussed increasing fees for recreation department activities to increase revenue.

For the second year, Habersham County United Methodist churches have connected to help those in need. This year, the “connectional group” has adopted Food 2 Kids as a cause. Participating in the project are six of seven UMCs in Habersham County: Ebenezer, Clarkesville First, Cornelia, Cool Springs, Alley’s Chapel and New Liberty, as well as Demorest Methodist Congregational Federated Church. Sponsored through the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, Food 2 Kids is a program which provides weekend meals to children in need. The food includes items children can fix themselves, such as microwavable soups, as well as bread and fresh fruit. Michelle Blackburn, Habersham County Schools social worker in charge of Food 2 Kids, said, “The local Methodist churches’ connectional group has been such a blessing to the program. I was delivering all of the food bags each Friday to the four schools that participated in the program, and this group stepped up to help me. They began delivering the bags and are planning a fundraising event for Aug. 3. They truly see the need for this program, which helps to provide simple, nutritious food for children on the weekends. All of the food items are things that children can prepare on their own if needed. All of the funds they raise at the event will be for Habersham County children.” Sponsoring a child for the entire school year costs $260 and the program does not run in the summer. But you don’t have to sponsor a child to help Food 2 Kids. The connectional group has a big fundraising day planned for Aug. 3. The public is invited, and all funds raised will go to Food 2 Kids. The day will begin with a car wash at Burger King in Cornelia, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., then an antique car show, food and a concert featuring Mike Johnson and the Sounds of Blue Grass from 3-6 p.m. at Habersham Ninth Grade Academy. Last year, the connectional group participated in Stop Hunger Now, which involved making food packages to send to famine-ravaged parts of Africa. This year, Pat Foster with Clarkesville First UMC, said the Rev. Richard Chewning, district superintendent of the Gainesville District (which includes Habersham County), told them to keep it local. “One of the things I would like to see is for us to have an impact in every community in the Gainesville District,” Chewning said. “The best way I can see that happen is all our churches coming together to work to make that happen. With 10 connectional groups in the Gainesville District, I’d hope they would do ministries affecting people around the world and locally, so the impact of Methodism would be seen locally.” “We’re trying to reach people for Christ,” Chewning said. “That is not just a personal thing. It’s also a social thing. The more people will look and see the impact we have on communities as Methodists, hopefully the more they’ll be open to allowing us to share the good news with them.” June Short, representing New Liberty UMC, said of connectional groups, “it’s great because it has us all working together. It’s a witness and it’s a support to each other to have Christians working together and backing one another. It helps you grow in Christianity.” Many members of the connectional group were already participating in the Food 2 Kids program. After an article appeared about it in the Sept. 26, 2012, edition of The Northeast Georgian, members of several different Methodist churches pitched in to sponsor children and Habersham County went from 30 to 46 children in the program. But that still isn’t enough, Foster said, and when Blackburn made a presentation to the connectional group, they jumped on the chance to help more children. “The Food 2 Kids program served 46 children this past school year in Habersham County,” Blackburn said. “The funds to sponsor children came from various groups and individuals. Many of those that chose to sponsor a child did so after the article was published in The Northeast Georgian. I received several calls in response to the article and many of those people did donate to the program.” Rene Grant, representing Ebenezer UMC, said Food 2 Kids is “a need. We enjoyed helping [Michelle Blackburn], and we saw we only did 46. There’s more kids than that. We had the statistics, so we know there’s way more. It was born out of a need.” “I think the county does not understand … they are not aware of the needs,” said Mary Wilbanks, representing Clarkesville First UMC. “If we, as Methodists, can inform the county, we have a loving county and they will step up.” For more information about Food 2 Kids, call Blackburn at 706-894-3055.