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Ty Akins signs paperwork to run for a full term as District 5 Commissioner.
Ty Akins is in his second year as chairman of the Habersham County Board of Commissioners, but he is hoping to serve one full term representing District 5.
“I didn’t do a full term to begin with, and I would like to serve one full term,” Akins said. “I feel like I am midstream with a lot of projects that got started while I was here and I would like to see those through.”
Akins said the transition period with the tax assessor’s office getting new software installed was a crucial project in addition to the SPLOST projects involving the animal shelter and the public safety radio system.
“We need to reassess our commercial and residential property,” Akins said. “People with comparable properties need to be paying the same thing. The tax assessor’s office has not had the resources to do the full reassessment that we need to do, and we should be doing it every three years. That will make a big impact on our revenue.”
Refining the county’s land use ordinance is also on top of his priority list.
“People do not want to see the whole county turn into new housing developments,” Akins said. “They would rather see the northern part of the county stay rural. We also have these weird conditional use requests that come before the board. We need a plan that is uniform because we can’t track all that stuff any more, we are getting too big.”
Akins lists getting North Georgia Health Systems to take over the hospital early as a major victory for everyone in Habersham County, not just the commission.
“It’s already starting to pay off. They aren’t closing that hospital. It is fit to grow,” Akins said. “When people or a business are thinking about moving here, having a nice hospital here is a big economic driver.”
Akins added making improvements at the airport and having the county take it over directly as a major win as well.
“Things are functioning a lot better out there now, and we have direct control of how we do things and we are able to maximize that asset for our county and turn it into revenue,” Akins said.
Akins said experience matters when it comes to learning the ins and outs of government.
“There are a lot of challenges and there is a lot to learn, and I feel like it took me a year or more before I really got a handle on things. But there is a steep learning curve,” Akins said. “It takes time to understand the budget, and I think after sitting through three budget cycles, I have a good idea of where we are spending our money.
“During my second term, I will be a more productive commissioner,” Akins said.