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HOGANSVILLE, GA
PERMIT NO 35
Formerly The Hogansville Herald
Scraping the Hogansville-Grantville Area Since 1944
~61, NO. 26
HOGANSVILLE, GEORGIA - THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2004
12 PAGES • 2 SECTIONS ¢50¢
i "
By Franoes Robinson
DOWN - All but
of the
Pear trees that
' ,ned Main
Hogansville
felled by work-
to make way for the
sidewalks that are
built by Gerald
Construction as
of the Hogansville
project,
~ may be wrapped up
for the July 4
Here, workmen
the sidewalk
down this week.
CLAYBROOK
Hogansville Police
soon be providing
dispatch services
Wilson St. Clair con-
Chief Guy Spradlin and
Chief Jerry Ramos have
Dog! CiW lhxes to Go Down
New Annual Budget Smaller,
Yet Still Includes Pay Raise
By CUNT CLAYBROOK
There is good news for
Hogansville residents this
week: city taxes are going
down.
The City Council on
Monday night approved the
city's Fiscal Year 2004-2005
budget, which came in some
$100,000 under projections
for the current year, mean-
mg that property owners will
actually get a reduction in the
taxes they pay the city in the
coming year.
The total budget is
$6,056,070; the enterprise or
utilities budget is $4,328,600;
the general fund budget,
which is the city's general
operating fund is budgeted
at $1,727,220.
There's a 2.2 percent
across-the-board pay raise
for city employees built in.
HOWEVER you view it,
at a time when the State's rev-
enues have declined and cuts
have had to be made in edu-
cation funding and in the
.reducing a city's operating
expenses makes for a success
stow.
Mayor Wilson St. Clair
predicted after the City
Council approved the budg-
et at a Monday night meeting
that a reduction of the city's
millage rate from 9.75 to 7.75
mils will mean an annual sav-
ings of about $80 in city taxes
to a homeowner whose resi-
dence is valued at $100,000.
City Councilman Jack
Leidner noted that this is the
SL Clair Leidner
third consecutive year that
Hogansville's government
has been able to reduce taxes;
city taxes in Hogansville
have gone down 30 percent
in that time, he noted.
The budget, if on target,
would add $227,000 to the
city's contingency funds,
$195,000 in the city's enter-
prise fund and $32,000 in the
general fund, according to
projections.
Jack I~idner, who heads
the city's finance committee,
said the city has some
$400,000 to $500,000 in
reserves, but he'd like to see
closer to $1 million in
reserves.
EVEN SO, he had praise
for Andy Sharpe and Bill
CA?As
worked with the finance
committee, Leidner, City
Manager Randy Jordan and
others who helped develop
the new budget.
"I think we set a record
by lowering (the tax rate) two
mills at one time, said City
Councilman Thomas Pike.
But Sherman Yarbrough,
a local resident who owns sev-
eral rental properties in the
city and has been embroiled
See BUDGET, Page 6A
May Pay Hogansville to Handle Dispatching
GrantviUe police.
Grantville was forced to find
somebody to handle its non-emer-
gency 911 calls after the Coweta
County Commission cut off that
service to Grantville a month or
more ago.
emergency 911 calls unless the city
pays for that service.
Grantvile City Manager Doug
Bennett was quoted last week as
saying that Hogansville will handle
his city's non-emergency calls
amdthe cost will be $5 per call and
that Hogansville will handle all
checks through the Georgia Crime
Information Center that are
requested by Grantville police.
been discussing whether
Hogansville can handle Grantville's
non-emergency calls. "But it hasn't
to(the City Council)" yet, St.
go t[en
C~ said.
But the proposed deal might not
be far away. State Sen. Dan Lee, who
is the city attorney for both cities,
is reportedly working on an agree-
ment that will be presented to both
town councils.
Under the proposal, Hogansville
won't deal with Emergency 911 calls
from Grantville. "Coweta County,
under the law, will continue to han-
dle those calls," Wilson said.
"Our police department would
handle things like running license
checks if somebody is stopped in
Grantville or doing background
checks," tag checks or auto regis-
tration checks requested by
Commissioners in that county
ruled that the county isn't respon-
sible for handling Grantville's non-
Don't Cost,'
Renting Does
thos~ videos would cost $49.
CLAYBROOK
woman
a movie entitled
Don't Cost a Thing," is
about to find out
indeed it does, especial-
it's on a rented video cas-
IAnda Livingston of the
U.S. Highway
told police that Wakika
29, of 203 Elm Street
rented the video at the
The estimated cost was
were told.
Also, on June 15,
complained to
poremovies
being returned to the
In that case she said,
to a police report,
"Blue Hill Avenue" and
,29 and still had not
She estimated that one of
In another incident, she
said, a movie entitled
"Rundown" was rented on
April 6 and still hadn't been
returned by June 15.
"Warrant procedures
were advised," the officgr
dealing with those com-
plaints wrote.
In other recent incidents:
• On July 15, when
Hogansville police officer
Scott WiLson assisted a Troup
County sheriff's deputy in
serving a warrant at 205
Avery Lane in LaGrange
found the wanted person,
Billy Shane Bozeman, 25, in
possession of le~s than an
ounce of marijuana and
charged him with that
offense.
• On July 10, a police offi-
cer was sent to 4-A Jennings
Homes to assist the Troup
County Fire Department with
crowd control, according to
a report dealing with that
incident.
By Clint ChrFI0mo~
FLAPPING IN THE BREEZE- The flags at Antioch Baptist Church were standing almost horizontal on Monday.
They're waving rnajestical~ over the church's newly-striped parking lot.
