August 2, 2022

FINANCIAL REPORT

  • SPLOST & LOST

    • SPLOST and LOST revenue shown in the report dated July 31, 2022 reflect collections reported for June 2022. For that period, SPLOST collections were $1,249,700.49 which is a $254,931.43 (25.63%) increase over the same period last year. LOST collections were $792,638.08 which is a $162,130.28 (25.71%) increase over the same period last year. SPLOST collections over the last 12 months were up $2,284,501.43 over the previous year. LOST was up $1,426,922.66 over the previous year.

  • TAX APPEALS

    • Final numbers show 496 real property and 75 personal property appeals this year compared to 549 real and 118 personal last year.

  • AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS

    • The county HR and Finance Departments have been working with the Finance Committee to plan for the second round of premium pay for essential government workers. This second round of premium pay has been planned for about a year and was contingent upon receipt of the second round of ARPA funds. The premium pay is intended to reward essential county workers for their service to the public during the pandemic and to encourage job retention during this period of labor shortages.

SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS & ACTIVITY

  • COVID TASK FORCE

    • The task force met today. Local cases increased by 304 in the last month compared to164 and 146 cases in the previous months. The hospital reported 16 Covid positive patients compared to 5 the month before. The Health Department is also monitoring for monkey pox.

  • EMA

    •  The Emergency Management Agency continues to actively work with people and organizations across Gordon County to enhance emergency preparedness. Recently, EMA has been providing active shooter response training to our schools.

  • COURTHOUSE RENOVATION

    • We continue to monitor progress on renovations to the historic Courthouse. Framing is well underway on the first floor that will house elections upon completion.

  • ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

    • The Development Authority met last week. Four major projects are underway on Trimble Hollow Road Thor continues construction of the million square foot+ warehouse, Momeni is near completion of its building and is looking to open for business as soon as possible. CFL is open and is looking to make major expansions to its manufacturing facility and Seefried has broken ground on its development at the North end of Momeni Lane. Work on development of Trimble Hollow Road into an industrial grade road has begun with the relocation of fiber optic cable by AT&T. Across from Trimble Hollow on Highway 41, OWR, LLC has begun industrial development of the farm acquired from the Hulsey family.

  • PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

    •  Administration facilitated a meeting to continue the move to a more efficient and streamlined permitting process. We received input from stakeholders such as EMA, Public Works, Fire Inspection, Building Inspection, Planning and Code Enforcement to begin building the online portal. The portal host, QPublic, is under contract to provide the service. We expect to increase communication, access to information and efficiency between our departments and with the public.

  • BUILDING & GROUNDS

    •  Department Head, Jeff Champion, watches over all of our facilities. Of note, the DFCS building has 3 bad air conditioning units in need of replacement and that is underway. The new a/c's will be paid for by a repair fund collected from the State.

  • RADIO COMMITTEE

    •  The radio committee met again with Dalton Communications last week to continue the enhancement of emergency radio coverage across the county. Dalton Communications has added several towers to help cover zones where reception has been a problem.

  • SENIOR CENTER RENOVATIONS

    •  The SPLOST funded renovations to the senior center are beginning this month. Calhoun has graciously provided space at its recreation department as a temporary location while construction is underway.

  • JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT

    •  Calhoun and Gordon County held an initial meeting to plan and establish general timelines and criteria for the mandatory 5-year amendment to the Joint Comprehensive plan. The final revisions are due next summer. In the meantime, we will be establishing stakeholder committees, conducting a public survey, and holding public hearings. The Comprehensive Plan is becoming more relevant as we continue to grow as a community and the planning process gives an opportunity to look at housing issues, transportation plans, and other issues of community interest.

  • STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

    • The Chamber of Commerce hosted the State of the Industry address and Dr. Roger Tutterow was the featured speaker. Supply chain issues, need for a skilled labor force and inflation dominated the report. Dr. Tutterow recognized that Gordon County may be better off than others due to its strategic location on I-75 between Atlanta and Chattanooga.