Solomon’s Masonic Lodge, the first in Georgia, was organized on December 10, 1735. Upon his return to the colony, James Oglethorpe would join the group.
Patriots captured liberated Virginia on December 9, 1775 as militias from Virginia and North Carolina defeated the redcoats at Great Bridge.
On December 11, 1777, during their movement to Valley Forge for the winter, Washington’s colonial forces engaged British troops under General Cornwallis as the Americans were crossing the Schuylkill River.
President Abraham Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction on December 8, 1863.
First, it allowed for a full pardon for and restoration of property to all engaged in the rebellion with the exception of the highest Confederate officials and military leaders.
Second, it allowed for a new state government to be formed when 10 percent of the eligible voters had taken an oath of allegiance to the United States.
Third, the Southern states admitted in this fashion were encouraged to enact plans to deal with the freed slaves so long as their freedom was not compromised.
John Jay was elected President of the Continental Congress on December 10, 1778.
Indiana became the 19th State on December 11, 1816.
Emory College was incorporated on December 10, 1836, as Governor William Schley signed legislation chartering the school.
Governor Charles McDonald signed legislation on December 11, 1841 to prevent a person from having his or her testimony excluded in court because of the individual’s religious beliefs.
The first use of nitrous oxide as a dental anesthetic took place on December 11, 1844.
On December 10, 1850, a special convention met in Milledgeville to determine the state’s reaction to the Compromise of 1850, a series of five bills passed in Congress attempting to deal with issues between slave states and free states.
The [Georgia] platform established Georgia’s conditional acceptance of the Compromise of 1850. Much of the document followed a draft written by Charles Jones Jenkins and represented a collaboration between Georgia Whigs and moderate Democrats dedicated to preserving the Union. In effect, the proclamation accepted the measures of the compromise so long as the North complied with the Fugitive Slave Act and would no longer attempt to ban the expansion of slavery into new territories and states. Northern contempt for these conditions, the platform warned, would make secession inevitable.
This qualified endorsement of the Compromise of 1850 essentially undermined the movement for immediate secession throughout the South. Newspapers across the nation credited Georgia with saving the Union.
On December 9, 1867, a Constitutional Convention to draft a new state document convened in Atlanta. Among the 166 to 169 delegates elected to the Constitutional Convention were 33 or 37 African-American members – accounts vary.
The Atlanta City Council appointed the first Board of Education on December 10, 1869.
On December 11, 1872, Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback took office in Louisiana as the first black Governor in the United States.
A memorial service for Jefferson Davis, former President of the Confederate States of America, was held in the Georgia State Capitol on December 11, 1889 while his funeral was that day in New Orleans.
The Spanish-American War was ended on December 10, 1898, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
On December 8, 1899, Georgia Governor Allen Candler signed legislation to levy a tax on all dogs older than four months.
Guglielmo Marconi completed the first transatlantic radio transmission from Cornwall, England to Newfoundland on December 12, 1901.
The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941. Montana Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin, the first female elected to the United States House of Representatives, cast the sole dissenting vote. Rankin later moved to Athens, Georgia.
On December 11, 1941, Germany declared war on the United States.
Dickey Betts, guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, was born on December 12, 1943.
Gregg Allman was born December 8, 1947 in Nashville, Tennessee.
On December 11, 1960, a civil rights demonstration including 8000 African-American citizens was held in Atlanta as part of the movement to boycott stores that remained segregated.
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964 in Oslo, Norway, becoming the youngest recipient of the award.
The Libertarian Party was founded on December 11, 1971 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment building in New York City on December 8, 1980.
Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 2002.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Brian Kemp signed Executive Orders #12.08.22.01, Renewal of the State of Emergency for Supply Chain Disruptions and #12.08.22.02, Suspending fuel taxes during the State of Emergency for Supply Chain Disruptions. From the Capitol Beat News Service:
The latest suspension will run through Jan. 10, the day after Georgia lawmakers convene under the Gold Dome for the 2023 General Assembly session. After that, Kemp will look to the legislature to help provide tax relief to Georgians in other ways, the governor said during a news conference at the state Capitol.
“We can’t continue to do what we’re doing with gas taxes,” Kemp said. “This was always intended as a short-term answer.”
Kemp, who was reelected to a second term in office last month, repeated a pledge he made on the campaign trail this year to push for an additional $1 billion state income tax rebate on top of the $1.6 billion tax rebate Georgia lawmakers approved this year. He also is asking the legislature for $1 billion in property tax rebates.
Incoming Republican legislative leaders appeared with Kemp Thursday to lend support to his tax cutting proposals.
“Georgians deserve to keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible,” said House Majority Leader Jon Burns, R-Newington, the House Republican Caucus’ nominee to succeed the late David Ralston as speaker of the House. “It’s not our money.”
Providing additional tax relief shouldn’t be a heavy lift for the General Assembly. The state is sitting on top of a $6.6 billion budget surplus, which will make deciding what to do with tax dollars a lot easier.
The tax break has cost the state an estimated $1 billion in revenue since it took effect in March, and Kemp suggested during a state Capitol news conference that he won’t extend it further.
Instead, he said his focus will turn to seeking legislative approval of another round of income tax rebates and a property tax break — a pair of campaign promises expected to cost another $1 billion apiece.
After 10 months of tax relief at the gas pump, Kemp said, “we’re going to transition away from that temporary program.” He added: “We can’t continue to pay what we’re doing on the gas tax suspension.”
At his news conference in Atlanta, the governor was flanked by three fellow Republican leaders: incoming Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, House Speaker Jan Jones of Milton and House Majority Leader Jon Burns of Newington, whom GOP lawmakers have nominated to become the new speaker when the legislature convenes in January.
“We stand in strong support and shoulder to shoulder with Gov. Kemp,” said Jones, who temporarily inherited the speaker’s gavel following the death of David Ralston last month.
The governor also hopes to revive a property tax break that was allowed to lapse in 2009 amid a state budget crisis caused by the Great Recession. Kemp has proposed spending another $1 billion to save what he says will be about $500 a year for taxpayers with homestead exemptions.
From Atlanta News First via WALB in Albany:
“I’m calling for a second one-time tax refund of equal size to the first one” Governor Kemp said. The move would give over $1 billion back to local taxpayers.
“I’m also asking that we use an additional billion dollars to fund homeowner tax relief at the local level.” he added.
During his remarks, the governor echoed his long-held public criticisms of the Biden administration, calling on the federal government to address rising costs and inflation.
“We cannot fix everything that Washington has broken, but we are doing our part to deliver relief,” Kemp said.
The 2023 legislative session begins Jan. 9.
United States Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland is asking the State of Georgia to deny a proposed mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, according to The Brunswick News.
U.S. Department of Interior [Secretary] Debra Haaland has written a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp voicing opposition to a proposed mining project near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
“A proposed titanium dioxide mine in the Okefenokee ecosystem and adjacent to the refuge is currently being evaluated by the state of Georgia’s permitting authorities,” she wrote. “I strongly recommend that the state of Georgia not move ahead with approval for this proposed mine in order to ensure that the swamp and refuge are appropriately protected, consistent with all appropriate legal processes.”
It’s the second time in 25 years that an interior secretary has voiced opposition to proposed mining near the Okefenokee. Then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt visited the world-famous swamp a quarter century ago to voice opposition to a proposed mining project by DuPont before the company even applied for a permit.
Haaland’s announcement opposing the mining proposal by Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals comes after a visit to the Okefenokee last week. She toured the refuge with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who has openly opposed the mining near the swamp.
“The department has a profound interest in protecting the health and integrity of the swamp ecosystem,” Haaland wrote. “Home to the refuge, it is a unique wetland ecosystem unlike any other found in North America and is one of the world’s most hydrologically intact freshwater ecosystems.”
“The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has communicated these concerns before and intends to submit further information outlining these serious consequences if the state moves forward with the permitting process,” Haaland said. “We are not alone in this assessment, as some of the preeminent experts on this ecosystem and hydrology at the University of Georgia have also raised the alarm about the threat that this type of mining activity in this area poses to the swamp.”
State legislators representing Hall County spoke at the Hall County Chamber’s Eggs and Issues breakfast, according to AccessWDUN.
Seven Hall County delegation members were included on the panel during the event: District 49 Senator Shelly Echols, District 50 Senator Bo Hatchett, House District 27 Representative Lee Hawkins, House District 28 Representative Brent Cox, House District 29 Representative Matt Dubnik, House District 30 Representative Derrick McCollum and House District 31 Representative Emory Dunahoo, Jr. House District 100 Representative David Clark and House District 103 Representative Soo Hong were not in attendance.
The delegation answered many questions—some that were prepared before the event, and some that were written and submitted by members of the audience. Topics included mental health, teacher pay and education, workforce shortages, marijuana legalization, transportation, tax refunds, healthcare, casinos and gambling and business expansion. Doug Carter, president of Don Carter Realty, mediated the discussion.
Both Echols and Dubnik provided comments on teacher pay concerns. Dubnik began by praising Gov. Brian Kemp’s initiative to increase teacher pay, citing the $5,000 increase as evidence of their success thus far. Echols hopes to continue the trend, stating that more student-teacher programs would help the education system as well.
On the topic of workforce shortages, Hatchett affirmed Georgia as the top state in the nation to do business, emphasizing the need to encourage more young people to consider technical education and trade schools as the backbone of the community. Cox echoed that sentiment, saying that trade apprenticeships should be heavily encouraged.
The entire delegation stood in opposition to the legalization of recreational marijuana. Hatchett, Dubnik and Dunahoo explained their position in support of medical marijuana legalization, sharing first-hand stories of the impact the plant has had on suffering patients in the past.
Casinos and gambling are continuously a topic of debate during legislative sessions. Cox detailed the potential positives, giving the example of how some lottery money goes toward scholarships, but still affirmed his resistance. Hatchett agreed with Hawkins on matters pertaining to sports betting. Currently, residents in Georgia can bet on sports through various applications, with the state receiving no money from those transactions. Hatchett said that Georgia gets nothing from the unregulated $4 billion sports betting industry in the state alone. The entire delegation was in stark opposition to casinos.
State Representative Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin) will Chair the House Appropriations Committee, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.
Georgia House Speaker Jan Jones appointed former House Majority Whip Matt Hatchett Wednesday to chair the House Appropriations Committee.
“Over his dozen years of service in the House, Chairman Hatchett has earned the trust and respect of our colleagues and brings considerable expertise to this new leadership position,” said Jones, R-Milton.
“The House takes very seriously our stewardship role in working with both the governor and the state Senate to produce a conservative budget that invests wisely for Georgia’s future. I know Chairman Hatchett will ably lead the members of the Appropriations Committee in their important work.”
Hatchett, elected to the House in 2010, has served in numerous leadership roles during his tenure, including as a governor’s floor leader, majority caucus chairman and, most recently, majority caucus whip. He currently serves on the Appropriations Committee’s General Government Subcommittee and has been a member of two other appropriations subcommittees.
Hatchett received a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics from Presbyterian College. He currently serves as director of mission enhancement for the Mercer University School of Medicine.
The State Senate Committee on Assignments also received some new members, according to the AJC Political Insider.
State Sens. Brandon Beach and Greg Dolezal were sidelined under Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. But his successor is putting them in positions of power.
Incoming Lt. Gov. Burt Jones tapped both to serve on the influential Committee on Assignments. Other members include Jones, John Kennedy and Steve Gooch.
Beach and Dolezal were demoted by Duncan in 2021 after they endorsed Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the election. So was Jones, who was stripped of his role as chair of the Insurance and Labor Committee.
State Rep. Jasmine Clark, (D-Lilburn) will sponsor legislation to change Runoff Election procedures, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Clark announced on Wednesday that she will pre-file legislation to extend the window between the general election and runoff from four weeks to six weeks. The biggest impact would be a longer early voting period for a runoff, with counties required to offer at least one Saturday voting day during early voting.
“The bill will address the shortened timeline for the election that led to various issues with voters receiving their absentee ballots in time, extremely long lines and many people not having the option for weekend voting,” Clark said.
Until the 2020 election cycle, the window had been nine weeks, but it was shortened to four weeks as part of election reforms that became law last year.
If the rules outlined in Clark’s legislation had been in place for this year’s runoff, the election would have been held on Dec. 20. Gwinnett County also would have been able to offer 19 days of early voting — the number it traditionally offers before an election — starting the Monday after Thanksgiving.
“Despite record turnout, many voters were unable to participate, and as policymakers, we should strive to make the ballot box accessible to all eligible voters that want to vote,” Clark said.
State Senator Clint Dixon (R-Buford) will sponsor legislation raising the pay of Gwinnett County Commission Chair Nicole Love Hendrickson, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
State Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, is working on the bill, and he said the legislation would raise the chairwoman’s salary to the same base salary paid to Gwinnett’s sheriff — which is $143,455. It will be introduced sometime, likely early, during the 2023 legislative session, which begins in January.
He announced it publicly during the county commission’s annual meeting with state legislators at the Gas South Convention Center on Thursday.
Speaking of Runoff Elections, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Atlanta) improved his share of Gwinnett County votes from the January 2021 Runoff Election to the December 6, 2022 Runoff, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Unofficial results show Warnock received 62.13% of the 265,420 votes cast in Gwinnett for the runoff. Statewide, he defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the runoff.
By comparison, Warnock received 60.63% of the vote in Gwinnett when he faced then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler in January 2021.
But turnout in Gwinnett for the January 2021 runoff was still higher — 104,374 votes higher, to be exact — than it was for this year’s runoff. In 2021, 369,794 votes were cast in that runoff, which had 12 more days of early voting than Tuesday’s election had.
The Gainesville Times opines about how Herschel Walker won Hall County but lost the state.
Despite falling short in a close runoff race to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, GOP candidate Herschel Walker carried Hall County on Tuesday – taking 72% of the vote to Warnock’s 27%, a slightly higher margin compared to the Nov. 8 election when Walker earned 70% to Warnock’s 26%.
In Hall County, total voter participation in the runoff was down overall, with 47,424 ballots cast for Walker – 4,219 less than the 51,643 votes he received in November. Only 1,423 fewer ballots came in for Warnock on Tuesday, as he earned 17,773 votes in the runoff and 19,196 in the Nov. 8 election.
“Prior to 2021, Republicans usually outperformed (in runoffs), and that was mostly because of a Democratic drop-off,” [University of North Georgia Political Science Professor Glen] Smith said. “Then you saw, in 2021, there was no Democratic drop-off and there was, even slightly, a Republican drop-off … it seemed like there was a little bit of a Republican drop-off (in 2022). The drop-off was less (among Democrats).”
“It seemed like voters rejected the candidate – Walker – more than they did the Republican Party,” Smith said. “I wanted to see if it held up without the third party candidate there … it seems pretty clear, if you look up and down the ballot in Georgia, you had Republicans winning by almost the same margin in every race. But in that one race in the Senate, Walker just couldn’t get over 50%.”
Smith attributed Walker’s inability to match the performance of other Republicans like Gov. Brian Kemp – who was successful in defeating Democratic challenger Stacy Abrams in November – to the candidate’s political alignment with former president Donald Trump.
“If you look at the primaries, some of the ones Trump attacked like Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensperger (won),” Smith said. “… I think it’s fairly clear in the postmortem – I think it’s very comparable to the Pennsylvania race with Dr. (Mehmet) Oz. They both came in with a lot of baggage, not very much experience (and) connected to Trump.”
“I don’t know how much Trump was weighing on voters’ minds,” he added. “But it does seem like the one candidate of all the statewide races that was most closely tied to Trump ended up losing, and that was Walker.”
The AJC notes that nearly 3000 Georgia voters turned in blank ballots.
Election returns indicate that roughly 2,694 voters left their ballots blank. Among them is Beau Stubbs, who said he couldn’t bring himself to choose sides.
“Walker is embarrassing, and Warnock is a liberal Democrat,” said Stubbs. “I hope this gets Republicans’ attention that they can’t put up someone like Walker and expect to win.”
I don’t know how Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan got 2,964 ballots.
Blamestorming over the Herschel Walker loss has started. From the AJC Political Insider:
[H]is aides and allies told us that his wife, Julie Blanchard, also complicated his run by commandeering his schedule and prioritizing interviews with conservative media outlets. She also directed his press team to avoid interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after it published coverage she didn’t like.
We were also told that she was focused on winning a majority of the Black vote even when strategists told her that was unfeasible. And she directed the campaign to falsely claim Walker’s high school football coach wasn’t his coach after he endorsed Warnock.
Blanchard initially didn’t comment on the criticism. But late Thursday, we heard from campaign consultant Timmy Teepell, who said the criticism was “unseemly, dishonest and unethical.”
“Julie is a professional, energetic and unwavering defender of her husband as she should be,” he said, adding: “The cowardly folks engaged in this dishonest whisper campaign should quit politics for the good of this country.”
Meanwhile, Walker campaign manager Scott Paradise tweeted a rejoinder to the attacks.
“We had a great team with a lot of talented people who poured their lives into this race for more than a year,” he wrote.
The AJC profiles Adam Magnus, who is credited for Sen. Warnock’s TV ads, which were excellent.
[T]he ads skewered Walker with more of a wink than a sledgehammer.
The man behind the ads is Adam Magnus, who has worked with dozens of Democratic campaigns over 25 years, mostly in Senate and gubernatorial races.
In a political climate steeped in cynicism, Magnus said his goal with Warnock was different.
“We wanted to make you smile,” he said.
The sweet spot: an ad where Warnock came off as authentic, which reinforced what he had done for the state and still entertained the viewer, at least a little bit, Magnus said.
After he was hired, Magnus spent Martin Luther King weekend holed up in an Atlanta hotel watching every Warnock speech and sermon he could get his hands on so he could accurately capture the pastor’s voice. For the ads to resonate, he needed to harness Warnock’s optimism and warmth, he said.
A trust quickly developed between the two men that has endured five elections.
How else to explain Magnus getting the senator earlier this year to stand waist-deep in peanuts — “That’s nuts,” Warnock exclaims — to showcase his bipartisan work supporting Georgia’s peanut farmers? Or to persuade him to get tackled by an 8-year-old boy in a football-themed spot?
According to Magnus, Warnock never nixed an idea. Instead, he would read what seemed like an outlandish proposal and laugh.
Is this really going to work? Warnock would ask.
We’re going to give it a try, Magnus would reply.
The spots have won praise from both sides.
In a tweet, Georgia-based conservative pundit Erick Erickson called them “objectively, some of the best political ads ever run.”
Bobby Kahn, a former chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia who runs a political media company, said the ads used understated humor effectively, which can be tricky.
“They had an edge to them and and made an important point,” Kahn said.
GOP strategist Brian Robinson called the Warnock commercials “talkers.”
“You could stand in a circle of Republican voters and they would say, under their breath, ‘Those Warnock ads are really, really good,’ ” Robinson said.
The Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) heads to President Biden’s desk for signature, according to the Albany Herald.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed Ossoff’s bipartisan Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act Wednesday to help rural communities experiencing a high level of opioid overdoses respond to the crisis.
Sens. Ossoff and Chuck Grassley’s, R-Iowa, bill passed the Senate last December.
The bipartisan bill will surge federal dollars to provide rural communities with the support they need to combat the epidemic and prevent addiction.
“Like so many Georgians, I’ve lost friends to the opioid epidemic,” Ossoff said. “My bipartisan bill with Sen. Grassley will fund efforts to prevent and treat addiction and save lives. I am bringing Republicans and Democrats together to address the opioid crisis.”
The bipartisan bill will identify current gaps in prevention, treatment, and recovery services for those who interact with the criminal justice system in rural areas and establish new efforts to address the opioid crisis in that community.
Other legislation sponsored by Sen. Ossoff to help veterans also passed, according to WRDW in Augusta.
On Thursday, Sen. Jon Ossoff’s bipartisan bill to help Georgia veterans access their service benefits passed the U.S. House.
Veterans are often required to present their military records to access critical care and benefits they earn through their service.
The bill will help clear the backlog of veterans’ records requests.
“Too many Georgia veterans are having to wait too long to access their service records. It can impact their access to health care and veterans’ benefits,” Ossoff said. “I am bringing Republicans and Democrats together to clear out that backlog so that veterans and the families of veterans are not denied the benefits they’ve earned.”
It sure would have been nice to include the title or bill number in that reporting.
Gwinnett County Commissioners voted to raise the pay of Sheriff Keybo Taylor (D), according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
The Board of Commissioners approved a $50,000 local salary supplement for Taylor on Tuesday. Although the base salaries for sheriffs are set by the Georgia General Assembly, state law does allow counties to pay a local salary supplement to the sheriff to boost their pay.
Chatham County and its municipalities appear still deadlocked on the proposed revenue split for the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), according to the Savannah Morning News.
In a Tweet, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson stated that Chatham County has, once again, walked away from the cities’ latest offer during a contentious round of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) negotiations that began in July of this year.
Johnson Tweeted shortly after 1 p.m.: “Chatham County walks away from an offer that would net the County an additional $102 million in additional tax revenue. For #Savannah this is not a ‘plot or a ploy.’ This is real life – involving real dollars & real people. #WeAreAllLOST.”
[T]he mediation ended with still no consensus on how to distribute around $1 billion in tax revenue generated by the 1% tax levy over the next 10 years. If the parties do not reach an agreement by year’s end, the LOST certificate will expire and so will the ability to collect millions in annual funds that are used to offset property taxes for residents and business owners throughout the county.
To bring back the tax levy, a referendum will have to be voted on by residents.
The latest offer from the municipalities presented the county with two options: the county takes 26% of the funding, an immediate 3% increase from their current share, and the cities take 74%. Or, the county starts with its current share (23%) with incremental increases to 31% throughout the 10-year funding cycle.
The county rejected both offers.
“They want us to wait 10 years to get to 31% and that’s not workable,” said Chester A. Ellis, chairman of the Chatham County Commission. “Everybody agrees to the 31. It’s just how you get to the 31% — it needs to be there sooner rather than later.”
Albany and Dougherty County continue negotiating a LOST split, apparently with less drama than in Savannah. From WALB in Albany:
Elected officials of both Albany and Dougherty County met up on Thursday to discuss the future of LOST funding.
LOST stands for Local Option Sales Tax.
The city is asking to increase its share of LOST dollars from 60% to 70%. The funding would last for the next 10 years.
But after many hours of deliberation, neither the county nor the city was able to come to an agreement.
Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said both the county and the city should have already come to an agreement.
“We really should have. And it’s very frustrating that we have not been able to come to a reasonable agreement. Then their taxes, both on the city side and the county side, are gonna go up a lot. Like a lot. And that’s why folks should be encouraged to watch this process and how it’s going,” Cohilas said.
The city claims raising the funding would help pay for federally mandated projects, like updating the city’s sewer system.
The tax plan expires on Jan. 1. Meaning if an agreement is not met by both, the city and county will lose millions in funding.
Garden City wants to regulate short term vacation rentals (STVRs) like those offered by AirBNB, without having passed an ordinance, according to WTOC in Savannah.
Garden City is attempting to shut down Airbnbs with some big fines.
Some are facing notices of $1,000, but the city might not be able to enforce it.
Councilman Richard Lassiter ended Monday’s Garden City Council meeting questioning how they’re enforcing a code against Airbnbs when one doesn’t exist.
“Just be gung-ho and fine them and there’s no ordinance in place or anything stating an Airbnb is prohibited.” District 4 Councilman Richard Lassiter said.
“There’s no permitted use for an Airbnbs except for the situation that a resident is renting out their place. They’re allowed to do that in a residential area,” said the city’s attorney Jim Gerard said.
He alluded to the fact that there could be an ordinance coming soon.
“One is being drafted. I wasn’t aware that people were being cited right now for that.”
“I received a knock on my door in the morning and Garden City code enforcement was there with a gun and badge in his hand,” Airbnb Owner Heather Moore said.
“The officer said cease immediately…immediately.”
City officials said to them in an email that the fines were “suspended” but they still needed to remove the listing.
It was made clear during the meeting that there are no ordinances against short term vacation rentals, yet residents still have paperwork that says they owe the city.
They went on to say they would be “monitoring” or in other words watching the area for compliance.
Tybee Island City Council member Brian West wants to let the dogs out. Onto the beach. Or at least some of them. From WTOC in Savannah:
Dogs would also only be allowed on the beaches from the 19th Street boardwalk to Inlet Avenue.
The city would have code enforcement and department of public works out on the beach to make sure the area stays clean.
Councilman West says this is all open for discussion and some things could change in the proposal.
“I’m hopeful that we can get some fair and positive discussion about it and not just, there’s no way it can be done, it can’t be done, it’s not possible. It is possible. We just need to figure out how to make it work for people,” West said.
Council will meet to discuss the proposal during their meeting on Thursday. They will not be voting on it.
Former Gainesville Mayor Mark Musselwhite will serve as City Manager for Demorest, according to AccessWDUN.
The city council Thursday night voted to contract with former Gainesville Mayor Mark Musselwhite to serve as interim city manager for the foreseeable future.
The city will pay Musselwhite $2,000 per week with the contract being on a week-to-week basis.
Mayor Jerry Harkness said the city is a city manager/city council form of government, meaning neither the mayor nor a council member can run the city.
Harkness said upon learning of Simonds’ decision on Wednesday that was effective Thursday he immediately began searching for someone who could fill the manager’s role on an interim basis.
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