Questions answered by Lamar Paris, County Commissioner
Q. The grass in my front yard was just starting to look good when the county road crew came along and scraped the grass off the edge of the road and left the edge of my yard in a mess. Could you please get it fixed?
A. You will see a lot of this going on over the next few weeks. The reason they are scraping off the grass is because it is covering up a buildup of dirt that is holding water on the roads and preventing them from draining properly. By the time I was able to get out to look at this road, the Road Dept. had already been back around and hydroseeded the edge of the road. Within 30 days, it should be back in good condition. There are two separate crews that perform this work. One comes around and scrapes the road edge and the other crew may come back in a couple of days and complete the smoothing up and grassing. If you will be patient, this process will soon be over.
Q. We have heard rumors that there are some companies interested in moving some industry to Union County. What can you tell us?
A. We hope to have some announcements soon. While they may be relatively small employers of 10 or under, we are excited that we have three to four different companies currently considering moving or starting a business in Union County, especially in light of the economy.
Mitch Griggs, our Economic Development Director, has really been working very hard and aggressively attempting to attract new business and industry. We have had several near misses with new industry, but think that will turn around soon. When this economy makes a final turn around, and it will happen, Union County is going to be “Ready for Recovery”!! With all the improvements and new infrastructure being made in this county by the city, school and county governments, we think that no county will be better prepared for the future than Union County and we feel this investment will be a real advantage for us moving forward.
Q. I live on a private road (blue sign) and apparently, because of how narrow our road is, we will not qualify to be a county road now or in the future. I pay property taxes just like everyone else but get nothing for them. I also do not have any children in the school system. This does not seem fair to me.
A. This is a question we have addressed before and a fairly common question. The county already maintains over 500 miles of roads in the county. There are just about as many private roads in the county and the amount of additional equipment and employees and money required to maintain them, would be a budget buster. In addition, it is very difficult to properly maintain the narrow roads.
Developers had the option of building to county road specs and purchasers have had the option of purchasing property on a county road. Because of the confusion, several years ago we began using green street signs for county and county maintained roads and blue signs to designate private roads. This was to assist those who are purchasing property and homes in the area to make an educated decision on where to live. Private roads allow you more control of who comes and goes, whereas with county roads, there are practically no restrictions as to use of the road.
Educating our children is a responsibility everyone should share in. Having an educated population prevents many of the ills of society and is a direct benefit to every taxpayer.
Q. Are roads and schools the only benefit we get for being a property tax payer?
A. Absolutely not. In fact, very little of property tax money is dedicated to road work. Almost all road work is done with SPLOST funding. Even if you do not live on a county road, more than likely, you access your road off a county road. Your property taxes also allow you to have instant access to all emergency services including fire, sheriff or police, ambulance, rescue and E-911, building inspection and soil and erosion enforcement. All recreation facilities, court system, deed and public records system, including property deeds, public transportation, is maintained with your property tax dollars. All public facilities including the Haralson Civic Center, Health Dept., Senior Center, Annex, Courthouse, (old and new), voting precincts, library, one hundred and fifty employees and many other facilities are kept up with your tax dollars. Your tax dollars go a long way and provide many services other than just schools and roads.