After all the holidays, it’s back to business as usual for many counties, and Crisp is no exception.

On Tuesday, January 10, the Crisp County Commissioners held their first meeting for 2017.

After the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, nominations for Chairman and Vice-Chairman were the first order of business.  The votes were unanimous that Commissioner Sam Farrow, Jr., serve as Chairman and Commissioner James Nance serve as Vice-Chairman for the 2017 year.

Chairman Farrow thanked the Board and commented, “I’ll do my best to represent this county fully.”

The minutes for the December 13 meeting were approved.  There was no public presentation or participation at the meeting.

Lawson & Reid, LLC, will continue to be the County Attorney for 2017.

Chairman Farrow was appointed to represent the Crisp County Power Commission for the January through June 2017 term.

Sheriff Billy Hancock petitioned the Board for permission to apply for a COP Grant.  The grant would be crucial to obtain 50 body cameras.

The cameras would have audio capability.  Hancock stated that the cameras were expensive on the front-end, but on the back-end, much litigation savings would be realized.  Sheriff Hancock informed the Board that the grant would be a “long shot” as only four applications out of 200 received the grant last year.  The Board approved application for the grant.

Commissioner Felton questioned Sheriff Hancock concerning the recent rash of robberies, and he replied that the Cordele Police Department and Sheriff’s Department were networking and expecting a breakthrough soon.

Up next, Finance Director Sherry Leverette requested that presentation of the Fiscal Year 16 Audit Report be tabled until the next meeting as FEDEX lost the hard copies, but the audit is already available on the website for citizens to view.  She also informed them that the 2017 SPLOST will be on the November ballot.  She reminded the Board that the SPLOST would not be a new tax, just a continuation of the one to expire on December 31, 2017.

The Calendar Year 2017, Fiscal Year 2018 Budget, and Tax Digest Approval Calendar were adopted and approved.

Leverette also addressed the Board concerning a very unusual request from a taxpayer requesting an appeals hearing other than from the Board of Equalization.  To this end, the Board was asked to set a fee to meet the request.   She also reported to the Board that 62% of 2016 Ad Valorem taxes had been collected and that sales tax receipts were down less than 1%.

After County Administrator Tom Patton delivered his report, Executive Session was called.