Liberty County commissioners hope to set the tax millage at their Nov. 16 mid-month meeting.
The timetable calls for the tax commissioner to take the tax digest to Atlanta for Department of Revenue approval in time for the board of education to determine its millage rate Nov. 14.
At their last meeting, commissioners heard a plea from Tax Commissioner Virgil Jones to set the millage rate as early as possible so tax bills can be mailed. Prompt tax billing is a request his office hears year after year.
The projected November schedule will be an improvement over last tax year, when bills for 2016 were mailed on Jan. 5, 2017.
Also at its Thursday meeting, the commission reviewed the status of road problems in The Trails subdivision, about which they had heard many complaints in September.
The county has never accepted the roads for maintenance and poor construction and heavy loads have put them into serious condition.
“Some holes out there are pretty deep,” County Engineer Trent Long said Thursday.
Long said some roads were built to standards in effect at the time of construction, but those standards have proven inadequate especially under heavy loads like timber trucks. The Trails dates back to 1997, Long said.
One option for homeowners is filing a lawsuit against whatever developer now owns the road, but this course did not seem popular with officials or complaining citizens. A future solution, Commissioner Gary Gilliard said, is to “not allow this craziness to take place.”
Commission Chairman Donald Lovett said the case of The Trails, “seems to require something outside our normal acceptance rules,” but no suggestion was made.
The commission agreed to a lease of the humane shelter building recommended by County Attorney Kelly Davis. The city of Hinesville will share in the arrangement to continue operations at the shelter. The county recently opened a new office for its Animal Control Department.
An intergovernmental agreement for shared Liberty County/Hinesville operation of the Hinesville Branch of the Live Oak Public Library was approved. County Administrator Joey Brown said the agreement improves and records procedures for library operations. Separate agreements will deal with the county and Riceboro and Midway for operation of the branch in Midway. Commissioner Eddie Walden did not vote; his wife is a member of the county library board.
The Savannah Swim Team, which had asked for an agreement to use the recreation department’s pool at Midway, is now renting the pool under the standard county rental agreement, Brown said. The county and the team are in discussions of a plan to heat the pool for practice use with an extended schedule.
Brown said the county’s boat ramp at Sunbury, damaged in recent storms, was now available for public use again. Repairs are continuing, but the ramp is operational.