ELECTION 2020: District 1 county commission candidates answer questions

   With Habersham County Chairman Stacy Hall vacating his seat at the end of this term to run for the Georgia Senate, there will be a new commissioner in District 1 for the next four years.

   There are three candidates vying for that position – Jeffery Lunsford, Benny Pate and Bruce Palmer. Their answers to five questions provided by The Northeast Georgian are listed with candidates’ answers in alphabetical order.

   1. How will the COVID-19 crisis affect the county’s business going forward and what steps will need to be taken to ensure financial stability?

   2. What in your view is the most financially responsible method for providing Habersham County the new jail facility it so desperately needs?

   3. What do you see as the county commission’s role in supporting Habersham Medical Center financially through this time of difficulty?

   4. What is, in your view, the best allocation method for SPLOST funds to the municipalities and why?

   5. Habersham County’s tax base is upside down with property owners paying more of the tax base than business and industry. How will you work with existing business/industry and economic development leaders to reduce the heavy burden of taxes for property owners?

JEFFERY LUNSFORD

   1. I believe that social distancing will become a part of our daily lives. Gone will be the allowing as many as we want or can be put in a space. This will increase business owners operating cost which they will have no choice but to pass onto the customer. Now is not the time to be increasing taxes on anyone, business or private homeowner. The county needs to be looking for ways to cut spending and waste. We have to maintain what we have, protect our services to our people and help those that need assistance recovering after the pandemic anyway we can. The government is no different than our tax payers, we depend on our income and the people that are out there protecting you now depend on us to pay their wages. Finding and cutting waste and encouraging new business is the best answer.

   2. SPLOST is the best answer hands down. Instead of putting the burden on the property owners (business and home) anyone who does business in our county helps. To this end we need to encourage smart growth to capitalize on our location, climate, lakes, parks and access to other attractions not in our county but we are a pathway there.  Also I wonder about the assessment done by Precision Planning. They are outstanding at building new and functional buildings, but shouldn’t we have someone that specializes in repairing buildings doing the assessment? Perhaps if nothing else they could buy us a little more time. The commissioner’s need to be more aware of how SPLOST is being spent, avoiding waste and unnecessary spending of the funds. The county needs to be more proactive and less reactive. Things like this should be found and planned for in advance before they become a emergency.

   3. COVID-19 has proven the need for HMC in our community. HMC has a proven impact on our local economy. Time has proven that small rural hospitals have poor survivability. The commissioners are now watching how our money is being used closely which is long overdue. We should continue to help support HMC and be working to merger it with a larger system, taking the debt and burden off the county. Using North Georgia Health System as a example since we work so well with them. A larger system with a proven track record of management, their size gives them buying power for supplies that reduce cost, they already have the accounting and billing departments so that is taken off, larger patient populations, more specialized services. It is a win for everyone.

   4. While I understand most of the sales tax is generated in Cornelia and the city of Cornelia also taxes the property those business are on, provides them water and sewer, police, fire and so forth. I also understand that a huge number of the customers that are spending money there come from Baldwin, Demorest, Clarkesville, Batesville and so forth. Anyone in our county is the same as the next. For instance, while Demorest may not have a Walmart they have citizens paying the tax same as everyone else and deserve a fair share for their community. The only fair way to everyone is by population. 

   5. I’ve heard many terms to describe our community, and the best seems to be a bedroom community.  We are a retirement/farming community with apples and peaches, beef and chicken our main focus for years. In recent years we have enjoyed being a retirement area, bringing us knowledge and culture from other parts of the world. Some where in all this we lost our textile mills and sewing plants and other industry. Our youth drive to our neighbors for jobs. We have a main artery in 365 and we need to use that as others have to bring in jobs and industry so our people can work at home. We need smart growth. Business and homes that compliment each other, work together to preserve what we are and allow jobs and benefits to our area. To have a balance in taxes, we have to have a balance in business and homes.

BRUCE PALMER

   1. Obviously watching spending and being a good steward of the taxpayers’ money is always important. Supporting the local economy equally important. We must look toward increasing our tax base through an increase in industry in Habersham County. This along with the fact that in 152 of 159 Georgia, counties 1% sales tax goes to the county government. We are one of a handful of counties it goes to the school board. This would currently bring in approximately $5 million per year. 

   2. We have always been looked at as a bedroom community. This has created the issue we currently have with the homeowner bearing the responsibility of supporting the counties taxes. Unfortunately along with higher population comes a higher demand for services including a detention facility. Currently about 68% of the tax base is from the homeowner. I believe we must bring more industry in to offset the tax burden. This along with the fact that in Georgia 152 of 159 counties 1% sales tax goes to the county government. If Habersham County government received those funds it would be more feasible to build facilities such as the jail. This along with bringing more industry into the county would provide more tax revenue.

   3. First let me say that the fact we have a local hospital is a benefit to the citizens and I believe we should try to do everything we can to keep it and it be financially stable. However, we have to be a good steward of the taxpayers’ money. This must begin with the hospital and hospital authority. I don’t understand giving someone a bonus that is running a facility that is losing money. As a commissioner we should be appointing citizens to the hospital authority that have business sense, after all it is a business. I don’t believe in giving someone a blank check. This usually results in a situation where pulling from those funds is easier than making the hard decisions on how to pinch pennies, so to speak. HMC not only provides a medical local medical facility it contributes to our local economy. However financially the hospital must be as frugal as the commission with taxpayer money.

   4. By population to me is the most fair method. I know the commission considered two options at the called meeting on May 4 and voted to go by population. While I understand that for example the cities provide services to areas of the county such as water and sewer. They also charge for those services, and usually at a higher rate.

   5. Bringing in more industry not only increases the tax base. It could be utilized to offset the tax burden from the homeowner. It would also create local jobs. Many of the our citizens commute south daily to work. This takes time away from their families from the added drive. It also takes away from the local economy through purchases made daily where they work. With the inland port proposed in northern Hall County, Habersham County will have the best opportunity to bring industry in to the county. We must not only look at ways to attract future businesses we must actively seek potential business/industry/retail to Habersham County.

BENNY PATE

   1.  As of today, there are 343 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Habersham county – an 100.5% increase from last week with eight deaths so we don’t know what the impact will eventually be. I’m not sure anybody in our county or our state has the magic answer to our problem.

   2. I really don’t have enough information or facts to decide on which direction to go with the new county jail. I do think if it is built it should be a partition type structure that can be added onto and expanded in the future.

   3. I think the Habersham County hospital is too important to our community to let it fail or close it down. However I do understand that departments of the hospital are profitable and others are not, so it may be necessary to limit the capability of our hospital and somehow streamline the cost. It does seem like the hospital is a little top-heavy with management, but at this point who knows. I do have good friends and neighbors that are very familiar with the hospital and way it operates and I’m sure I can get some good advice from them.

   4. The cities and municipalities are the engines that drive our county. I think we can do a better job of collaborating with the cities in the county.

   5. This question, goes back to No. 4. As cities grow and become more productive the tax burden will equalize if not turn over in a more favorable way to the bedroom communities in the county.