The Union County Government Offices and offices of elected officials will be temporarily altering how they do business during this time of caution. Please see the list below to learn how you can safely continue to conduct business with each organization.
UNION COUNTY COURTHOUSE_______________________________________ COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE The Union County Commissioner's office will be available by phone at 706-439-6000 or via email at commissioner@uniongov.com . Please call or email any requests that you have and our office will get back in touch with you to set up an appointment. _______________________________________ CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT The Union County Clerk’s Office is operating with limited access pursuant to the Order Declaring Judicial Emergency. Courts should remain open to the extent feasible, but should give priority to ‘essential functions’. Please contact us at (706) 439-6022 with any concerns or needs prior to traveling to the Union County Courthouse. _______________________________________ DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE The District Attorney's Office intends to maintain essential services during the current health emergency. To facilitate social distancing, we will work with office staff reduced by 60% with the remainder teleworking, but we will have a qualified assistant district attorney and a support staff person on duty every day in each of the four offices until further notice. We are accepting appointments on an as needed basis only. All services that can be accomplished by phone or email will be conducted electronically. In light of the Legal Emergency declared by the Georgia Supreme Court and our local order, only hearings regarding time urgent life, liberty and property matters are being conducted. This will include bond hearings and plea proceedings regarding individuals in custody. Grand Jury and Jury trials are postponed. Pursuant to the Declaration of the Judicial Emergency, court filing deadlines have been tolled until April 13, 2020, subject to possible further extensions. Before entering the DA's office, all visitors will be required to use hand sanitizer and to confirm that they answer "no" to the five risk factor questions. The DA's Office may be reached at 706 49-6027 for questions, services, or to make vital appointments. _______________________________________ GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) Union County GIS – Starting Tuesday March 17, 2020, the Union County GIS office will be available by phone at 706-439-6082 or via email at ucgis@uniongov.com . Please call or email any requests that you have and our office will get back in touch with you to set up an appointment. _______________________________________ MAGISTRATE COURT All Courts have closed until April 14, 2020 by order of the Georgia Supreme Court, excluding only those matters deemed "essential." In response and according to the Supreme Court order the Magistrate Office of Union County is closed until April 13, 2020. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work together through this. Above all, we hope you and your families stay well during this time. Should you have questions, please call our office at 706 439-6008. ______________________________________ PROBATE COURT The Probate Court will be closed to the public, but will continue to do business by mail and online at: www.unioncountyga.gov/courts/probate-court. See our website for a complete notice or call 706 439-6006. ______________________________________ PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE Please call our local office in Blairsville at 706-745-8156 to speak to your attorney or to make an appointment by phone. RECREATION DEPARTMENT Office hours are 8am-4:30pm; closed for lunch 12-1. Meeks Park is open. Pavilions and the Choestoe Schoolhouse are now available to reserve. Please note at this time social distance 6 ft apart and groups of 25 or less is in effect. The bathrooms, playground, basketball court, skate park, trails, and exercise equipment at Meeks Park II are all open. Meeks Park Pool and Splash Pad are NOT open at this time. ______________________________________ REGISTRAR'S OFFICE Advanced voting for the March 24th election has ended. The election has been moved to May 19th. All votes already cast in person, all absentee ballots will be counted, and every Georgia voter that has not yet had a chance to cast a ballot in the March 24 elections will be able to do so on May 19 along with the elections already scheduled for that date. We encourage everyone to vote by mail in the May 19th General Primary. Applications for mail ballots can be found at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov or by contacting us at ucregistrar@uniongov.com or by calling 706 439-6016. ________________________________________ TAX ASSESSOR'S OFFICE March 17, 2020 Union County Appraiser's Office Susie Phillips, Chief Appraiser COVID-19 Pandemic operating procedures Effective immediately The Tax Appraiser's office is taking in-office appointments at this time but will continue to serve the public by phone or email as much as possible. The Union County field appraisers will continue to visit properties during this time, which includes measuring buildings, but with limited interaction with the public. The office will open with social distancing guidelines in place when the courthouse is reopened to the public. Our Appraisal staff will also be available by phone for questions or concerns at 706-439-6011, by Fax 706-439-6012 or my email at ucta@uniongov.com. You may also submit any applications or forms by mail to: Union County Appraiser's Office 65 Courthouse Street, Ste 4 Blairsville, GA 30512 Property owners may also visit our website for forms or information at www.qpublic.net/ga/union For Personal Property questions: Amy Arrowood: personalproperty@uniongov.com For questions or concerns regarding RVs/Mobile Homes, Residential or Commercial Buildings: Cindy Fox: srfieldappraiser@uniongov.com _____________________________________ TAX COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE Union County Tax Commissioner Office is NOW open to the public. Please limit number of people coming in the building to those conducting business. Open 8:00- 4:30 daily Monday -Friday. We also encourage you to use our online services at our website uniongatax.com to renew tags or pay property taxes. Lee Knight, Union County Tax Commissioner www.dor.georgia.gov www.uniongatax.com 706-439-6017 ______________________________________ LICENSING - ALCOHOL Please make an appointment to apply for an Alcohol Permit or to pickup an Alcohol Permit. Only one person per appointment will be allowed into the office area. Robert Head 706 439-6000 Extension: 6196 __________________________________________ SHERIFF'S OFFICEUntil further notice, the Union County Sheriff’s Office will be taking the additional following precautions to further protect our deputies, detention officers, inmates and the general public; 1. We have implemented a limited access for the public with the Sheriff’s Office buildings. Please call us at 706-439-6066 if you have any questions. If you feel the need to come to the Sheriff’s Office, you are still welcomed. 2. No visitations with the jail, we highly encourage video visitation at this time. Please see jailatm.com We are responding to calls for service as normal. Sheriff Mack Mason apologies for any inconvenience, but our goal is for everyone to be safe and healthy. The website is http://www.unioncountygasheriff.org __________________________________________________ UNION COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT & EMAThe Union County Fire Dept and EMA Headquarters is operational. The building is closed to public access. The office is available by phone at 706-439-6091 or via email at ucfdclerk@uniongov.com. Please call or email with any questions or concerns and we will get back to you as soon as possible. If you have a true emergency, please call 911. ___________________________________________ BUILDING & INSPECTIONThe office is open but locked. Customers may make appointments by calling 706-439-6045 or 706-439-6046. You may email to ucee@uniongov.com or ucpermit@uniongov.com. A box for drop off or pick up paperwork is located outside the front door for your convenience. ________________________________________ CHAMBER OF COMMERCEBeginning Wednesday, March 18, the Blairsville-Union County Chamber staff will be working remotely; therefore, our office will be closed to all visitors. In addition, all external Chamber membership meetings and programs are POSTPONED through the end of March. We will continue to assess internal operations on a weekly basis to reschedule external meetings based on CDC guidelines. The bottom line, however, is that Georgia is still open for business, although we must be diligent to do our part in “flattening the curve” and mitigate the rate at which this virus is spreading. In doing so, we will be assisting our healthcare systems, first responders and emergency medical personnel in doing their jobs consistently and effectively. The safety of our community, membership, and staff is the top priority for the Chamber, and we will continue to monitor the ever-changing situation and be providing additional information and resources on our dedicated webpage, https://www.visitblairsvillega.com/covid-19. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if we can provide further resources for you during this time. Together we will get through this challenge. Steve Rowe President of the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce (706) 745-5789 CITY OF BLAIRSVILLEIn the interest of public health and safety and due to an abundance of caution in the face of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, City Hall is closed to the public. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause our customers but will continue to operate in a way that limits the exposure of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) to our staff and customers. Please visit our website at www.blairsville-ga.gov for up-to-date information and to access online City services. Public Meetings Public, in-person attendance at all upcoming meetings will be prohibited indefinitely. All public meetings of City-related boards, commissions, and committees, including the meetings of the Mayor and City Council will be available through teleconferencing, as permitted by Georgia law to protect public health. Interested parties will be allowed to participate in the meeting via a teleconference number which will be announced prior to each meeting on the City’s website. City Hall/Water Department Phones will be answered by city staff and water service related issues will be addressed. Payment for water bills, taxes, etc can be mailed, placed in the drop box at City Hall, made by calling 706-745-2000 or made online at www.blairsville-ga.gov. Forms for new water service can be found at the front entrance of City Hall or online at www.blairsville-ga.gov. Completed forms can be faxed to 706745-7326 or emailed to cashreceiving02@blairsville-ga.gov. Forms for Occupational Tax Certificates and Sign Permits can also be found at the front entrance of City Hall or online at www.blairsville-ga.gov. Completed forms can be faxed to 706-745-7326 or emailed to cityclerk@blairsville-ga.gov. Suspension of Municipal Court The City’s Municipal Court scheduled for April 13 has been postponed to May 11. Notice of the postponement has been mailed to those scheduled to appear. Police Department The City of Blairsville Police Department will have officers on duty 24/7 and the office will remain open at this time. When possible please request reports and make payments for fines by calling 706-835-1692. Fines can also be paid online at www.blairsville-ga.gov. _________________________________________________ COMMUNITY SERVICEWith an abundance of caution and in cooperation with Ga. Dept. of Community Supervision and CSRA Probation Services, Union County has made the decision to suspend all community service work activity until further notice. If you are a current participant and have questions or community service hours are part of a recent court sentence contact your probation officer or community service supervisor Richard Griggs at 706/897/2164. You may also reach me by E-mail : cssupervisor@uniongov.com ___________________________________________________ PROBATION SERVICESCSRA Probation Services will be closed to the public, however we may be reached by phone at 706-781-1882 during regular business hours Monday – Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. Clients may contact the office to obtain reporting information. Payments may still be made on line at www.CSRAPayments.com, by mail at P.O. Box 1809 Blairsville, GA 30512, or in the drop box (money orders only please) located outside the building on the side entrance. ______________________________________ SENIOR CENTERThe Senior Center will be closed to activities through the end of March. The center will continue to deliver the meals to the homes and some of the congregate meal clients will drive by and pick up their meal as they are doing now. Questions should be directed to: Kathy Hill (706) 439-6105 ______________________________________ TRANSPORTATIONDue to the public health emergency related to the COVID-19 virus, Union County Transit will be suspending service to the public effective March 23, 2020 until further notice. We regret the inconvenience this may cause our ridership and will be communicating future changes to this temporary suspension of service on our county website and our answering machine. ______________________________________ CIVIC CENTERThe Civic Center will be closed for all rentals until further notice. If you have already scheduled/paid for your rental and would like to cancel/reschedule or get a refund please contact Jammie Murphy at uc.civic.center@gmail.com Some businesses located in the Civic Center are not open to the public, however some are now by appointment only. Please call one of the numbers below and set up an appointment before visiting. · Food Pantry – Mon.-Thur. 9-3 Phone: 706-745-6596 · NRCS – 706-745-2794 · FSA - 706-745-2012 · CRSA Probation – 706-781-1882 · Community Service – 706-897-2164 ______________________________________ EXTENSION OFFICE/4-HThe Union County Extension/4-H office has resumed normal working hours Monday - Friday, 8am-5pm closing from 12-1pm for lunch. Our office is closed to the public; however, we will see visitors by appointment only by calling 706-439-6030. We are here to serve Union County. If you have Agriculture & Natural Resources questions, call Jacob Williams at 706-897-2082or email jacob.williams@uga.edu We look forward to seeing you in person when things return to normal. Until then stay safe and know that Union County Extension/4-H is still here for you when you need us! For more information or alternate contact please visit our FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/UGAExtensionUnionGA/ ______________________________________ FOOD PANTRYThe Union County Food Pantry will continue to serve the community Monday - Thursday 9:00am - 3:00pm. Questions can be addressed by calling 706 745-6596. _______________________________________ USDA OFFICE1. USDA Natural Resources Conservations Service (NRCS) contact via telephone Doug Towery District Conservationist. Office: 706-745-2794 x3 to schedule an appointment. 2. USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) contact P. Kevin Thomas County Executive Director contact via telephone Office : 706-745-2012 extension 2 to schedule an appointment. Normal Office hours 8:00 am to 4:30pm USDA website : https://www.usda.gov/ |