Griffin-Spalding Citizen Watch

23/10/2023

October 30, 2023 6:00 p.m.: Spalding County Board of Commissioners Millage Rate Adoption Meeting/Final vote: Last chance to voice your concerns to the commissioners. You Decide...

21/10/2023

ATTENTION DISCREPENCY OF 2023 MILLAGE RATE VOTE:

By Spalding County Board of Commissioners:

As far as for legal procedures, the governing authority (SCBOC) must post on their website (spaldingcounty.com), in a prominent place, the Five-Year Tax Digest and Levy and the notice of property tax increase as per OCGA 48-5-32.1 and GA Dept of Revenue 2023 COMPLIANCE GUIDE FOR ADVERTISING DIGEST HISTORY AND PUBLIC HEARINGS ON INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAXES .

See page 5 #1 states: Five Year History and Current Digest must be posted on the authority’s website and evidence of the
posting must be provided at digest submission

But there may be problem, the link on the spaldingcounty.com website titled Five-Year History and Notice is this ( as of Oct 21, 2023) :https://www.spaldingcounty.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Notice-of-Property-Tax-Increase-2023-Revised.pdf

Not the actual five-year digest.

This a procedural overlook and needs to be addressed. This could stop the vote and may make the vote taken, if taken, in legal question as per the OCGA and guide above.

We are not lawyers, so please do you due diligence.

OCGA 48-5-32.1: https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2022/title-48/chapter-5/article-1/section-48-5-32-1/

link to 2023 guide here: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=2661bc4685066b38JmltdHM9MTY5Nzg0NjQwMCZpZ3VpZD0wYTA4ZGFiOC1iYmRkLTY4MzctMzFiYS1jOWQ2YmFmZjY5NWEmaW5zaWQ9NTE4Ng&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=0a08dab8-bbdd-6837-31ba-c9d6baff695a&psq=2023+complaince+guide+for+advertising+tax+digest+ga&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9kb3IuZ2VvcmdpYS5nb3YvZG9jdW1lbnQvcHVibGljYXRpb24vY29tcGxpYW5jZS1ndWlkZS1hZHZlcnRpc2luZy1kaWdlc3QtaGlzdG9yeS1hbmQtcHVibGljLWhlYXJpbmdzLWluY3JlYXNlL2Rvd25sb2Fk&ntb=1

21/10/2023

20/10/2023

E-SPLOST VII or Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax is a volunteer tax voted on by the residents of Spalding County.

County wide there are currently several Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes the voters approved.

What difference does a single penny make?

What if it was not just one penny, but multiple pennies to the tune of $425,748,285.00 for all Spalding County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes (TSPLOST, SPLOST, E-SPLOST, LOST, HOST)?

Griffin Spalding County Schools FY 2024 Budget is the highest budget in its history at $109,404,372.00 and Student enrollment has decreased steadily in the past 10 years. 2021-2022 school year recorded 9,075 students (per Georgia Dept of Education). https://gaawards.gosa.ga.gov/analytics/saw.dll?dashboard

21-22 Proficiencies for High School grades 9 to 11:

Algebra: 13.9%
American Literature and Composition 23.1%
Biology 23.0%
US History 18.0%

21-22 Proficiencies Middle School grades 6-8

English Language Arts 18.6%
Mathematics 13.1%
Physical Science 25.2%
Science 13.5%
Social Studies 11.7%

21-22 Proficiencies Elementary Schools grades 1-5

English Language Arts 17%
Mathematics 16.7%
Science 20.1%

You Decide....

30/01/2023

On January 12, 2023 The Spalding County Commissioners agreed to forgo precedence of bidding (per Emergency Resolution), and allowed the City Manager Dr. Ledbetter and Chairman Clay Davis to proceed with this duty unencumbered. See Emergency Resolution Link Here:https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1757932/2023_DeclarationOfEmergencyResolution.pdf

**Approval nunc pro tunc the actions taken by County Manager, Dr. Ledbetter and Chairman Clay Davis on behalf of the citizens of Spalding County

Section 3. Procurement

The governing authority (Spalding County Board of Commissioners) hereby suspends the bid and competitive portions of the County’s Procurement Policy or resolutions and authorizes the County Manager (Dr. Ledbetter) to utilize the single-source policy and require departments to provide written justification for the procurement during the effective dates (January 26 through February 28) of this Resolution and/or utilize any emergency procurement provisions contained therein. County officials shall continue to seek the best prices during this state of emergency.
_______________________________________________________________________

Spalding County agrees to pay $1 Million to a company from Mississippi named DebrisTech, LLC, to COORDINATE (ONLY) for a Electronic Debris Management System keeping a cradle-to-grave digital record from start to finish. This does not include the actual Debris collecting in the form of labor, trucks, and other, this is just an Information Technology Umbrella System of tracking.

See contract Here:https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1758020/DebrisTechContract.pdf

See Company Website Here: https://debristech.com/

Hourly Rate is as follows:

Project Manager $55.00 Per Hour
Operations Manager $48.00 Per Hour
Filed Supervisors $42.00 Per Hour
Load Site Mangers $32.50 Per Hour
Debris Site/Tower Monitors $32.50 Per Hour

Plus Pier Diem to include vehicles, lodging, meals.
A 40 hour week at the above hourly rate and then after 40 hours will go to time and a half an hour and for Project Manager that would be $82.50 hourly not including Per Diem.

It is our hope some of those who are hired are from Spalding County, as many people have lost everything and are in need of good paying jobs.
_______________________________________________________________________

The company selected for the actual debris cleanup is a company from South Carolina named Southern Disaster Recovery LLC, at a contracted cost of $2.5 Million dollars.

See Contract here:https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1758176/SouthernDisasterRecoveryContract-DebrisRemoval.pdf

See Company Website Here: https://www.gosdr.com/

And as stated above, we hope people from Spalding are going to be hired.
______________________________________________________________________

Why not give Georgia businesses the opportunity to be a contractor ?

_______________________________________________________________________

Help the Charities who helped the people of Spalding:

It is our hope the Spalding County Board of Commissioners considers proclamations to officially recognize Charities such as Samaritans Purse and other churches and volunteers who helped throughout this disaster.

23/01/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YUGwUgBvTU

Listen to “Praise You In This Storm” by Casting Crowns!Click to watch the new music video for “Scars In Heaven” by Casting Crowns!https://CastingCrowns.lnk.t...

23/01/2023

I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING FROM EMAIL LIST OF CONGRESSMAN DREW FERGUSON [email protected]

DEAR FRIEND,

IN RESPONSE TO THE DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY THE INCLEMENT WEATHER OF JANUARY 12, 2023, A MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATION HAS BEEN GRANTED FOR AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS OF MERIWETHER, SPALDING, TROUP, AND HENRY COUNTIES IN GEORGIA'S THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT. GOVERNOR KEMP AND I MADE IMMEDIATE EFFORTS TO OBTAIN FUNDING FOR THE RAPID RECOVERY OF OUR TREASURED COMMUNITIES AND FOR OTHER INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED ACROSS THE STATE.

GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE, PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, AND HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAMS FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING AND HOME REPAIRS. LOW-COST LOANS TO COVER UNINSURED PROPERTY LOSSES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.

TO USE ONE OF THESE SERVICES, CONTACT FEMA ONLINE AT DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV, OR CALL USING THE APPLICATION PHONE NUMBER AT 1-800-621-3362.

23/01/2023

Thank You!!!!!

11/01/2023

FY 23 Record High Budgets for City, County, and School System

City FY 23 Budget is over $151,000,000.00
County FY 23 Budget is over $62,000,000.00
School System FY 23 Budget is over $108,000,000.00
__________________________________________________________
Total SPLOST's since 2008:
2008 SPLOST: 54,000,000.00 (Million) (Passed by Voters)(Senior Citizens Bus)
2014 SPLOST: $50,400,000.00 (Failed to pass by Voters)
2015\16 SPLOST: $50,400,000.00 (Passed by Voters) (Pickle ball/Aquatic Center)
2017 TSPLOST: $42,000,000.00 (Failed to Pass by Voters)
2021 TSPLOST: $48,000,000.00 (Passed by Voters)
TOTAL Passed: $152,400,000.000 Since 2008
TOTAL Failed: $92,400,000.00 Since 2008

See ESPLOST Total by Audit here: https://www.audits.ga.gov/ReportSearch/download/28956

04/01/2023

Total Local Option Sales Tax revenue received by city, county, school system, from 2007-2022: $363,448,285.00**(three hundred sixty three million for 15 years) and for 67,306 residents, per person tax would be $5,399.93 per citizen (adults and children) for a family of four the amount would be $21,599.72 per family, amount is from 2007 to 2022 voted and passed referendum volunteer sales tax totals. (Does not include Property Taxes) (includes Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST, and Transportation Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST),

**This is based on referendum amount not actual amount received per the revenue amount on the referendum voted on, which is usually exceed by millions.

https://griffinspaldingcit.wixsite.com/gscitizenwatch/post/fy-23-fy-32-finalized-local-option-sales-tax-agreement-signed-by-city-of-griffin-spalding-county

This money is our money, the taxpayers pay this and expect good stewardship. On December 30, 2022, the city and county came to an agreement of distribution for the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenue received by the county under various Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), Transportati...

31/12/2022

City of Griffin LOST UPDATE :

Taken from Agenda: The City of Griffin Board of Commissioners firmly believes the Local Option Sales Tax is an important revenue source to both the City and County of Spalding. For that reason, the Board is calling an Emergency Meeting for Friday, December 30, 2022 at 12 p.m., with less than 24 hours notice, as generally required for called meetings under Georgia’s Open Meetings Law.
This meeting is considered an emergency on the grounds that the statutory deadline for filing a new Local Option Sales Tax distribution certificate is due and must be delivered to the Georgia Department of Revenue on or before 5 p.m. today, December 30, 2022. Rather than just allow the LOST to lapse for failure to timely file a Certificate, the Board continues to exercise best ef orts to reach a compromise with
Spalding County regarding the allocation of the LOST.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA

https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/cityofgriffin/d7cbb8f756fedf644d4519e8cd9c46030.pdf

31/12/2022

Update On LOST negotiations:https://www.spaldingcounty.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-12-29-SpecialCalledMeetingAfterAgenda.pdf

We have put an open records request in for the finalized negotiation contract and split. As well as all legal minutes for the Special Called session meetings.

30/12/2022

UPDATE on LOST Renegotiations: LOST is a budgeted revenue item for the City for FY22-23 at $5,225,000.00

The city and county are standing firm for each of their respective final offers for renegotiation.

Just a reminder to all of you citizens, they are fighting over their portion of approx. $13 MILLION annually and close to that annually for next 10 years = $130,000,000.00 (we gave wrong number before this is the correct number)

If given the amount for FY 23 (per the city agenda), for the next 10 Years the City of Griffin the total would be:
$5,225,000.00 TIMES 10 Years= $52,250,000.00

City of Griffin budget for FY 23 is $151,000,000.00

County Budget for FY 23 is $62,575,795.00

Let's break this down:
City population per the census for City of Griffin is: 35,699
Spalding County Population is 31,607

City of Griffin FY 23 Budget : $151 Million (total Revenue projected is $139,522,385.00) =$4,229.81 per capita or per person

County Budget FY 23: $62,575,795.00 =1,979.80 per capita or per person

You decide.

30/12/2022

How much did Spalding County and City of Griffin receive from the 2016 SPLOST from 2016 to March/April 2022 = 73 months of collections. (Not to be confused with LOST)

$61,606,928.00

How much was the county's portion? $33,828,364.00

but 54.9% of $61,606,928.00 equals $33,822,203.47

How much did the City of Griffin Receive? $22,590,695.00 (Per legal minutes)

but the contract was for 45% and 45% of $61,606,928.00=$27,723,117.60

$33,828,364.00 PLUS $22,590,695.00 EQUALS $56,419,059.00

$61,606,928.00 MINUS $56,419,059.00 EQUALS $5,187,869.00

Where did the other $5,187,869 go???

Orchard Hill at 0.1% would be $616,069.28

The 2015/16 referendum voted on by the people was for $50,400,000.00

The county received and excess of $11,206,928.00 in 2016 SPLOST revenue.

SPLOSTs are used to offset property tax increases, yet the county, city, and school board have failed to rollback the millage rate in the last few years.

And the county/city had to use $5,874,048.50 of the American Rescue Plan Money for the Aquatic Center and the splash pad was not included. (Stating the reason for the lack of millage rollback was because they took these ARPA or Covid funds)

The total costs for the scaled down Aquatic Center is just over 10 million dollars.

The county says they did not have the money to add the splash pad, our questions are, where is the remaining $5,187,869.00 of the 2016 SPLOST and why did the county/city use ARPA money for the Aquatic Center when they received an excess of $11,206,928.00 in 2016 SPLOST funds?

Reference FB post her for Aquatic Center full money breakdown: https://www.facebook.com/CitizensSleuths/posts/pfbid0S9aNcjoQU2ZmQxbacsxG5A3pyvpJBRqve7Li8h6FyrzbP1W1X5T34KeQL7ciHsbol

Minutes for county meeting stating 2016 SPLOST fund total:
https://spaldingcounty.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/DisplayAgendaPDF.ashx?MinutesMeetingID=607

External Blog Link:
https://griffinspaldingcit.wixsite.com/gscitizenwatch/post/61-606-928-00-in-revenue-collected-by-spalding-county-2016-2022-splost-with-54-9--45-split-w-city

29/12/2022

Spalding County REJECTS LOST Renegotiation Portion Percent Counter-Offered by City of Griffin

Dec 22, 2022 Spalding County Board of Commissioners Special Called Meeting to vote against LOST renegotiation offer for contract with City of Griffin.

City of Griffin Counter Offer Rejected as Follows:

Out of 100% of LOST Local Option Sales Tax :

The City of Griffin will receive 40.5%
Spalding County will receive 59.5%

Spalding County Offer to City of Griffin on Dec 19, 2022 was:

The City of Griffin will receive 37%
Spalding County will receive 63%

Spalding County Commissioners voted to RE-OFFER the 37%/63% presented to the City of Griffin on December 19, 2022.

What does this mean for you?

This means if the renegotiation is not agreed upon between the parties, by December 30, 2022, the city and county will lose the LOST revenue. And the funds received will not be used to offset the millage rate rollback for the next years millage rate vote.

County, City, and School did not rollback millage rate in 21 or 22.

What Happens Next?

DISPUTE RESOLUTION Nonbinding Arbitration/Mediation Requirement If no agreement on a distribution certificate has been reached after 60 days following the commencement of negotiations, the law (O.C.G.A. § 48-8-89(d)(3)) requires the parties to submit the dispute to “nonbinding arbitration, mediation, or such other means of resolving conflicts.”

This is the final required step in negotiating a new distribution certificate.

Removal of Baseball Arbitration In 2010, the GA General Assembly amended the LOST statute to allow cities and counties to appeal to a superior court judge if the parties were unable to reach an agreement during LOST negotiations. This was placed in law as a final step following the dispute resolution requirement. However, in 2013 this "baseball arbitration" portion of the law was ruled unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court because it gave the courts a legislative power. Since 2013, despite efforts to establish a process to replace “baseball arbitration” that cities and counties can use where agreement cannot be reached between the parties, nothing has yet been devised to serve this purpose. Therefore, currently, until a new dispute resolution process can be put in place the parties must reach an agreement or risk losing the LOST funds.
https://www.gacities.com/getmedia/e89273a8-5436-4765-b1cf-7cf6470f12fb/LOST-Publication.aspx
_______________________________________________________________________
REMINDER: Under OCGA 48-8-91: The city and county and schools must offset the following years millage rate to the exact penny of the LOST revenue received in the last fiscal year. In 2022, the county, city, and school board did not roll back the millage rate.
_________________________________________________________

Taken from Agenda Notes:

Commissioner Flowers-Taylor then stated that she would like to make a few comments:

First, I would like for all our community to know, no one here has ever nor is now "giggling" over the situation in which we currently find ourselves. We should ALL be working toward a position for what is "BEST" for our community in regard to the LOST distribution.

Second, we are not relying solely on the numbers from our County Manager, the consultant we hired, or from members of our community like Chuck Copeland who offered his assessment of the numbers both at a townhall meeting and in writing. Rather, you elected us to represent you and that's exactly what we're doing. The commissioners up here, me and Commissioner Johnson, attended the training like our staff did for LOST renegotiation. We've done our own homework. We've looked at the numbers and we are confident that the offer we made Monday evening represents the best and final offer the county is willing to make. An offer that is equitable for all of us. It is not in favor of the County, nor is it in favor of the City. It's a number that is best for our entire community.

Finally, I take exception to comments made about one side taking care of employees pay over another. We all have the same challenges of paying an equitable wage for the hard work our employees do day in and day out. And we're all struggling to pay our bills. I can't speak for anyone but me, I live in the City. I don't want my City taxes going up, nor do I want my County taxes going up. I do realize however that if we're going to partner, and I do believe there's still a chance for us to truly partner that both the City and the County need to realize that there's a need for us to re-look at the distribution allocation and ensure that we take our emotions out of it and just look at meeting half way for the distribution and that's exactly what the County has done. The numbers are subjective and yes, our initial numbers were high in favor of the County and the City's numbers were high in favor of the City. The County recognizes the subjectivity of the numbers and we've moved from our original numbers to the middle and isn't that what you're supposed to do in negotiations? Negotiation is about moving; the City hasn't moved. They want things to stay the same. We're just not going to be able to stay there, nor do we think that's the right thing to do for our community. Motion carried unanimously by all.

2. Discussion and potential vote on proposed LOST distribution.

Motion/Second by Dutton/Flowers-Taylor to reoffer to the City the exact amounts that were offered at the meeting Monday night as the best and final offer to the City and approve the Chairman to sign the Certificate of Distribution should the City agree to the distribution.

Commissioner Dutton stated there was some discussion surrounding how the Department of Revenue viewed the offer, he asked Dr. Ledbetter if he could clarify this for everyone?

Dr. Ledbetter then advised that he had talked with two individuals at the Department of Revenue. Mr. Hill, a supervisor at the Department of Revenue and he exchanged emails this morning over the distribution as presented in our offer on Monday evening. Mr. Hill advised that a graduated distribution is permissible and allowed under DOR rules, there is nothing in the code to prevent us from using the percentages of allocation as presented to the DOR for review this morning. The comment by Mr. Hill was that “as long as the distribution allocation equals 100% each year, we are allowed to make changes to the allocation as it stands in the draft Certificate of Distribution. Motion carried unanimously by all Dec 22, 2022 County Board of Commissioners Emergency Session to vote for LOST renegotiation contract with City of Griffin.
_________________________________________________________________

How much is enough, because the last three years the county budget has exploded by 15%.

FY 2023 Budget= $62,575,795.00 (Million) an increase of $6,282,599.00 or 10% from 22 to 23

FY 2022 Budget = $56,293,196.00 (Millions) $3,185,087.00 or 5.6%
from 21 to 22 FY 2021 Budget = $53,108,109.00 (Millions)

A total increase from 2021 to 2023 = $9,467,686.00 or 15% _______________________________________________________________
In FY 2023 the City of Griffin Budget Revenues increased to $139,522,385.00 (budget of $151,000,000.00) up from FY 2022 $122,982,366.00 a 13.4% increase in Revenue and a 23.77% increase in Budget from FY 2022 of $122,000,000.00

FY 2021 City of Griffin Budget $122,000,000.00 a 1.67% increase from FY 20 budget, and a Budget Revenue of $122,982,366.00 a 2.7% increase over FY 2021

FY 2020 City of Griffin Budget was $120,000,000.00 City

2016-2022 SPLOST totals:
Total Bonded Projects: $10,722,998.30
Total Pay as you go Projects: $11,705,489.70
Total Projects costs: $22,428,488.00
Total City SPLOST 2016 Revenue Collected: $22,590,695.00
Total City Revenue collected for LOST from 2016-2021: $23,638,830.00 _________________________________________________________________ DOES NOT INCLUDE SCHOOL BUDGETS< ALL HAVE INCREASED BY MILLIONS>
Total SPLOST's since 2008:

2008 SPLOST: 54,000,000.00 (Million) (Passed by Voters)(Senior Citizens Bus)
2014 SPLOST: $50,400,000.00 (Failed to pass by Voters)
2015\16 SPLOST: $50,400,000.00 (Passed by Voters) (Pickle ball/Aquatic Center)
2017 TSPLOST: $42,000,000.00 (Failed to Pass by Voters)
2021 TSPLOST: $48,000,000.00 (Passed by Voters)

TOTAL Passed: $152,400,000.000 Since 2008
TOTAL Failed: $92,400,000.00 Since 2008

Dec 22, 2022 Spalding County Board of Commissioners Special Called Meeting to vote against LOST renegotiation offer for contract with City of Griffin. City of Griffin Offer Rejected as Follows: Out of 100% of LOST Local Option Sales Tax : The City of Griffin will receive 40.5% Spalding County will r...

20/12/2022

Spalding County Says OCGA 40-14-18 Not within Rules of the Road Passed on Dec 19, 2022. You Decide.....

The county states the Rules of the Road Resolution adopted Dec 19, 2022, does not cover the school speed zone camera program, but local ordinances under Chapter 7 contains speed restrictions (speed Zones, timeframes, length of school zones) enabling the Sheriff's Office to issue citations based upon the violation of local ordinance of Chapter 7 Motor Vehicle and Traffic.

OCGA 40-14-18 is a speed enforcement program based upon the speed violations of Spalding County Ordinance Chapter 7: 7-1001.5, 7-1002, and 7-1003, speed restrictions.

A speed citation issued under OCGA 40-14-18 school zone speed camera enforcement program, has to meet a threshold of local speed restrictions, hence, local speed restrictions must be violated in order to issue those speed citations.

Thus, local ordinances under Chapter 7 for speed restrictions for school zones (7-1003), ON System (7-1001.5) and OFF System (7-1002) roads, must be violated and the threshold met must exceed 10 miles per hour.

7-1001.5 and 7-1002 have not been updated to reflect new ON and OFF system changes by ordinance resolution since March 2020. And 7-1003 has not been updated, by ordinance resolution since Aug 2009.

The Spalding County Attorney Stephanie Windham stated “OCGA 40-14-18 is not part of the Rules of the Road Ordinance Resolution”, when asked by Commissioner Dutton for clarification on “Rules of the Road” Resolution during the Extraordinary Session last night on December 19, 2022. Passed Unan...

20/12/2022

For the last 4 days NOVUS for The Spalding County Portal for County Commissioners meetings has been down. Or at least not pulling up input information from the search parameters.

Please check for yourself and hit us back if you are experiencing the same issue.

https://spaldingcounty.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/ #

19/12/2022

The county attorney stated “OCGA 40-14-18 is not part of the Rules of the Road Ordinance Resolution”, when asked by Commissioner Dutton for clarification on “Rules of the Road” Resolution.

Why would OCGA 40-14-18 be part of this Resolution? Being the title of the code states:

Enforcement of speed limit in school zones with recorded images; civil monetary penalty; vehicle registration and transfer of title restrictions for failure to pay penalty.

OCGA 40-14-18 is an enforcement code/monetary penalty/failure to pay restrictions, it does not create mile per hour speed limit restrictions, it merely states the speed limit threshold which must be met to be issued a civil monetary penalty citation. It also describes the fine system and how municipalities or agent working on their behalf, must handle those citations and the steps listed for the citizen to rebut on their behalf, and current law enforcement procedures to follow in the issuance of this specific citation enforcement, as well as the role of the Georgia Department of Revenue.

The only codes referenced in OCGA 40-14-18 are
OCGA 40-14-8: When a case may be made and conviction had, OCGA: 40-14-6: Warning signs required; signage requirements, OCGA: 5-6-35 Citations for violations, and
Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50: Article 4 Inspection of Public Records (§§ 50-18-70 — 50-18-77).

Nothing pertaining to Article 9 Speed Restrictions (§§ 40-6-180 — 40-6-189)

HOWEVER, the last ordinance resolution for speed zones on roadways in Spalding County does refer to OCGA TITLE 40 Motor Vehicles and Traffic, specifically CHAPTER 6 Uniform Rules of the Road (Arts. 1 — 15). And Reads:

Sec. 7-1002. - Adoption of state law by reference; speed limit resolution of July 7, 1981. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. sections 40-6-370 through 40-6-376 and sections 40-6-180 through 40-6-183 of that chapter known as the Uniform Rules of the Road, are hereby adopted as and for the traffic regulations of this county with like effect as if recited herein. Be it ordained that the following off-system speed zones are established: and then it lists roads in the OFF System List of Roads of Spalding County.

OCGA Chapter 6: Uniform Rules of the Road Code referenced in Spalding County Ordinance Resolution 2020-ORD-03 OFF-System Speed Zones are: OCGA 40-6-180 Basic rules; and OCGA 40-6-183 Alteration of speed limits by local authorities; 40-6-370: Uniform state-wide application of chapter; 40-6-376: Prosecution under this chapter or local ordinance; transfer of charge to state tribunal; double jeopardy.

OCGA 40-6-183 gives authorization to Spalding County Board of Commissioners to alter speed limits for local ordinance Part VII: Motor Vehicle and Traffic, Chapter 1: General Traffic Regulations: Section 7-1002: OFF System Speed Zones. 2020-ORD-03 states: Replacing the designated ON (typo) Systems speed zones with the List approved by the Georgia State Patrol.

The List approved by the GSP is the List of Roads (LOR) used for Speed Detection Device Permits, authorizing the Sheriff’s Office to run ANY RADAR, ONLY on the roads listed on Spalding County List of Roads. Including running radar on roadways where school zones are present within the timeframes and specified school zone speed limit. The List of Roads that when changed, must be updated with an ordinance resolution.

Similarly for Spalding County Ordinance 7-1001.5 ON-Systems. And any Chapter 7 speed restriction ordinances.

The fact remains, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office OCGA 40-14-18 “School Zone Camera System Program” would not be possible without the Spalding County Chapter 7: Motor Vehicle and Traffic ordinances and speed restrictions. Specifically, 7-1001.5 ON System and 7-1002 OFF System speed zones. ALL under the umbrella of OCGA Title 40 chapter 6: Uniform Rules of the Road. Because without these local speed zones in place, how does the Sheriff’s Office know the citizen met the threshold of the speed limit in the school zones to issue a speed citation?
https://youtu.be/kyq3If7lSV4

19/12/2022

MUST READ IF YOU HAVE BEEN ISSUED A CITATION IN SCHOOL ZONES:
Our Blog Post has information about Speed Detection Device Permits and other interesting items, like how does the Sheriff's Office have authority to run radar if the school zones were not on the current List of Roadways. Find out the rest click link.

Lack of Consistency in Motor/Traffic Ordinances Forces Rules of the Road Resolution Spalding County: On December 5, 2022, the Spalding County Board of Commissioners Presented a First Read regarding "Rules of the Road" to align the local ordinances, including those ordinances that have recently been called into question.

At the December 19, 2022 Rules of the Road Adoption, the county attorney stated “OCGA 40-14-18 is not part of the Rules of the Road Ordinance Resolution”, when asked by Commissioner Dutton for clarification on “Rules of the Road” Resolution.
Why would OCGA 40-14-18 be part of this Resolution? Being the title of the code states:

Enforcement of speed limit in school zones with recorded images; civil monetary penalty; vehicle registration and transfer of title restrictions for failure to pay penalty.

OCGA 40-14-18 is an enforcement code/monetary penalty/failure to pay restrictions, it does not create mile per hour speed limit restrictions, it merely states the speed limit threshold which must be met to be issued a civil monetary penalty citation. It also describes the fine system and how municipalities or agent working on their behalf, must handle those citations and the steps listed for the citizen to rebut on their behalf, and current law enforcement procedures to follow in the issuance of this specific citation enforcement, as well as the role of the Georgia Department of Revenue.

The only codes referenced in OCGA 40-14-18 are
OCGA 40-14-8: When a case may be made and conviction had, OCGA: 40-14-6: Warning signs required; signage requirements, OCGA: 5-6-35 Citations for violations, and
Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50: Article 4 Inspection of Public Records (§§ 50-18-70 — 50-18-77).

Nothing pertaining to Article 9 Speed Restrictions (§§ 40-6-180 — 40-6-189)

HOWEVER, the last ordinance resolution for speed zones on roadways in Spalding County does refer to OCGA TITLE 40 Motor Vehicles and Traffic, specifically CHAPTER 6 Uniform Rules of the Road (Arts. 1 — 15). And Reads:

Sec. 7-1002. - Adoption of state law by reference; speed limit resolution of July 7, 1981. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. sections 40-6-370 through 40-6-376 and sections 40-6-180 through 40-6-183 of that chapter known as the Uniform Rules of the Road, are hereby adopted as and for the traffic regulations of this county with like effect as if recited herein. Be it ordained that the following off-system speed zones are established: and then it lists roads in the OFF System List of Roads of Spalding County.

OCGA Chapter 6: Uniform Rules of the Road Code referenced in Spalding County Ordinance Resolution 2020-ORD-03 OFF-System Speed Zones are: OCGA 40-6-180 Basic rules; and OCGA 40-6-183 Alteration of speed limits by local authorities; 40-6-370: Uniform state-wide application of chapter; 40-6-376: Prosecution under this chapter or local ordinance; transfer of charge to state tribunal; double jeopardy.

OCGA 40-6-183 gives authorization to Spalding County Board of Commissioners to alter speed limits for local ordinance Part VII: Motor Vehicle and Traffic, Chapter 1: General Traffic Regulations: Section 7-1002: OFF System Speed Zones. 2020-ORD-03 states: Replacing the designated ON (typo) Systems speed zones with the List approved by the Georgia State Patrol.

The List approved by the GSP is the List of Roads (LOR) used for Speed Detection Device Permits, authorizing the Sheriff’s Office to run ANY RADAR, ONLY on the roads listed on Spalding County List of Roads. Including running radar on roadways where school zones are present within the timeframes and specified school zone speed limit. The List of Roads that when changed, must be updated with an ordinance resolution.

Similarly for Spalding County Ordinance 7-1001.5 ON-Systems. And any Chapter 7 speed restriction ordinances.

The fact remains, the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office OCGA 40-14-18 “School Zone Camera System Program” would not be possible without the Spalding County Chapter 7: Motor Vehicle and Traffic ordinances and speed restrictions. Specifically, 7-1001.5 ON System and 7-1002 OFF System speed zones. ALL under the umbrella of OCGA Title 40 chapter 6: Uniform Rules of the Road. Because without these local speed zones in place, how does the Sheriff’s Office know the citizen met the threshold of the speed limit in the school zones to issue a speed citation?

On December 5, 2022, the Spalding County Board of Commissioners Presented a First Read regarding "Rules of the Road" to align the local ordinances, including those ordinances that have recently been called into question. See Meeting Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeI7nmq4B94 NOTE: School zone...