2020 – A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER - will be etched in our minds forever with COVID-19 turning all of our lives upside down. Shutdowns and sequestering reduced our normal number of eleven monthly meetings to five, however, we had some very interesting topics!
*Elbert Memorial Hospital Overview by Russell Toms, Director of Radiology – February
*Representative Alan Powell – update on legislation and upcoming elections – July
*District Attorney, Parks White – personal protection/defense & state gun laws – August
*Impact of Tourism on Our Taxes & Closing of the Payne’s Creek Campground – Commissioner, Ricky Carter – September PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION FOR SENIORS has been an ongoing project by the HCPOA Board. Many Georgia counties grant generous property tax exemptions for seniors. Since the Hart County Board of Education gets approximately 70% of our property taxes, we feel there should be some relief in this amount for older citizens. As a first step in achieving this we decided to test the feelings of citizens through a Ballot Initiative placed on a Primary Ballot which must be done through a political party. Following correct procedures, the Republican Party carried the following Ballot Initiative on the June Primary Ballot: “Shall Hart County Tax Code be amended to reduce/eliminate the burden of heavy school tax allocation upon senior property owners?” There was a brief clarifying explanation after this wording. The resolution passed overwhelmingly by 4,585 Yes vs. 826 No - an 85% yes, or 6:1 ratio! This is just the beginning of a long war but an obvious encouragement to continue on! UPDATE ON PAYNE’S CREEK CAMPGROUND. In October, the County Board of Commissioners moved to lease the Payne’s Creek Campground site from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will continue to operate it as a campground. Reservations can be made at the county website. HEADS UP FOR LAKE PROPERTY OWNERS. The new Hartwell Shoreline Management Plan became effective 9/15/2020. A dock electrical system inspection by a “State Certified Electrician” is now required when your dock permit is renewed. Also, irrigation using lake water is “still being considered” by the Corps. We hope to have Sandy Campbell talk about the entire new Shoreline Management Plan but apparently at this time Corps employees are working from home only due to COVID-19 issues. Don’t spend money on an irrigation system without checking! LOCAL SALES OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY have markedly increased in number and value this past year which will likely produce a rise in property tax assessments. We plan to have our April public meeting on the assessment and appeals process. Thank you for your support. We look forward to serving you again in 2021. HCPOA Executive Board