Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for July 22, 2025

Union General Irvin McDowell’s forces engaged Confederates under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard and General Joseph Johnston at the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

General William Tecumseh Sherman gained the upper hand in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. Estimated casualties were 12,140 (3,641 Union, 8,499 Confederate).

On July 21, 1868, the Georgia General Assembly ratified the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution as a condition for readmission.

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois.

On July 22, 1975, the United States House of Representatives voted to restore U.S. Citizenship to General Robert E. Lee posthumously.

Though President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation of amnesty and pardon to the Southern rebels in 1865, it required Lee to apply separately. On Oct. 2, 1865, the same day that Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College in Lexington, Va., he signed the required amnesty oath and filed an application through Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

Nonetheless, neither was Lee pardoned, nor was his citizenship restored. After receiving it, Secretary of State William Seward gave Lee’s application to a friend as a souvenir. Meanwhile, State Department officials, apparently with Seward’s approval, pigeonholed the oath.

In 1970, an archivist, examining State Department records at the National Archives, found Lee’s lost oath. That discovery helped set in motion a five-year congressional effort to restore citizenship to the general, who had died stateless in 1870.

President Gerald Ford signed the congressional resolution on July 24, 1975, correcting what he said was a 110-year oversight. The signing ceremony took place at Arlington House in Virginia, the former Lee family home. Several Lee descendants, including Robert E. Lee V, his great-great-grandson, attended.

On July 22, 1977, Elvis Costello released his first album, My Aim is True.

On July 21, 1988, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis accepted the Democratic nomination for President at the National Convention in Atlanta.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Wawa has opened their new store in Valdosta, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.

“More than just a place to grab a great hoagie, a smoothie, or a signature Wawa coffee… this represents new jobs, new opportunities, new investments in our local economy,” said Andy Gibbs, speaking on behalf of Mayor Scott James Matheson. “Welcome to Lowndes, Valdosta, and as they say, gottahava Wawa.”

Wawa’s commitment to local involvement was on full display during the “Hoagies for Heroes” competition, where the Lowndes Fire Department edged out the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department by building 14 hoagies in two minutes (to the LCSD’s 11). Each department received a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice.

“What you really figure out about a place such as Wawa is the organization itself — clean facilities, great facilities — but it’s the people that’s inside those buildings,” said Commissioner Bill Slaughter.

Wawa’s corporate foundation has donated over $185 million to nonprofits since 2014, and its opening in Valdosta included a $2,500 grant to Second Harvest of South Georgia to combat food insecurity.

The Savannah Morning News looks at the highest paid state employees in Georgia.

Open Georgia is an online platform with financial records of every state government employee’s earnings. Here are some of the highlights of its fiscal year 2024 data:

The top listed earner in Georgia’s government was Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griffith Lynch. He earned a salary of $1,385,671.50 and received travel reimbursements of $75,294.88.

1.) Griffith Lynch: Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO. Salary of $1,385,671.50 and travel of $75,294.88
2.) Charles Cary: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia Chief Investment Officer. Salary of $1,059,463.22.
3.) Michael Majure: Former Teachers Retirement System of Georgia Co-Chief Investment Officer. Salary of $897,917.76 and $1,134.80
4.) Thomas Horkan: Former Teachers Retirement System of Georgia Co-Chief Investment Officer. Salary of $885,821.61
5.) Edward McCarthy: Georgia Ports Authority Chief Operating Officer. Salary of $674,462.81 and $55,029.09

In FY 2024, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had a salary of $181,999.92 and received travel reimbursements of $29,884.69.

In FY 2024, Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones had a salary of $98,609.52.

More on the Review Commission appointed by Governor Kemp to investigate the indictment of Guyton City Council member Theodore Hamby, from the Savannah Morning News.

According to an executive order issued by Kemp’s office July 17, Attorney General Christopher Carr, Dan Peterson of Perry City Council and Tommy Roberts of Fitzgerald City Council have been called upon as the review commission to determine if Hamby should remain in office. The 3-person committee has 14 days to provide a written letter to Kemp with their decision.

Hamby was arrested March 14 by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and was charged with theft by taking and financial transaction card fraud, according to a press release.

The investigation began Feb. 21, when the Guyton Police Department requested assistance from the GBI with a theft investigation involving Hamby’s alleged misuse of a city credit card.

An open records request revealed Hamby spent $309 at a hotel in Atlanta, $32 on a meal at Logan’s Roadhouse, as well as multiple purchases from Parker’s. In all, the charges amount to more than $500 on the city’s card.

On March 24, Guyton Mayor Andy Harville called on Hamby to resign and still maintains his position regarding the issue.

“I fully support Governor Kemp’s decision to issue the executive order and establish a commission to review this matter,” said Harville. “I have full confidence in the process and in any determinations that may result from the commission’s findings.”

Some Savannah residents held the “Big Beautiful Backlash” to criticize U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter’s (R-SSI) support of the Big Beautiful Bill, according to the Savannah Morning News.

In Savannah, a crowd between 100 to 200 people gathered Saturday morning in Thomas Square Park to call out U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter and to protest against President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill, which he signed into law on July 4. According to a press release on Carter’s website, the legislator was a “leader in crafting” the legislation.

The Big Beautiful Backlash Rally was hosted by Coastal Georgia for Democracy, the Savannah chapter of Indivisible.

Suzanne Moccia, director of communications for Coastal Georgia for Democracy, singled out Carter for sponsoring the bill. “This was an effort to mobilize the community to hold Buddy Carter accountable for his vote. We have been protesting against DOGE [the advisory Department of Government Efficiency} and other issues and policies that have come from the Trump administration.”

The SMN also has a photo gallery from the event.

Eighty people protested against the Trump administration in Columbus, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Over 80 people stood along Macon and Wynnton roads Thursday, protesting against Trump administration policies while carrying signs and American flags in honor of the late civil rights activist and U.S. Congressman John Lewis of Georgia.

Columbus GA Indivisible conducted the demonstration for the National John Lewis Day of Action – “Good Trouble Lives On.” The event was a nationwide day of peaceful, nonviolent action to honor the legacy of Lewis, who died July 17, 2020.

Participants gathered in groups of 15 people or fewer at about eight sites stretching along Macon and Wynnton roads. The groups were kept small to prevent the need to acquire a permit, organizers told the Ledger-Enquirer.

One group counted the number of car honks in support and estimated their site received about 115 honks, she said.

Four Republican candidates have announced for the Congressional seat Carter will vacate in running for U.S. Senate, according to The Brunswick News.

Four Republican candidates and three Democrats have already announced intentions to seek the seat that will be vacated by incumbent U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-1, who has announced his candidacy for the seat held incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. Ossoff is seeking reelection to his seat.

Candidates seeking Carter’s seat on the Republican side include Pat Farrell, Kandiss Taylor, Krista Penn and James Kingston.

If the last name Kingston rings a bell, he is the son of former U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, who represented the district from 1993 to 2015. Jack Kingston chose not to seek another term in the House when he decided to run for U.S. Senate in 2015. He lost the Republican nomination to David Perdue, who went on to win the election.

Democrats Defonsio Daniels, Joseph Daniels and Randy Zurcher are seeking to challenge whoever wins the Republican nomination for Carter’s House seat.

U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Gwinnett) will not run for United States Senate next year, according to the AJC.

The Senate dominoes are falling. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, has ruled out a challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026, according to a senior aide.

And U.S. Rep. Mike Collins appears poised to announce his campaign at any moment after a not-so-subtle post on social media.

“Tires kicked. Fueling up,” the Jackson Republican posted to X on Monday. The accompanying 15-second video shows clips of President Donald Trump speaking about and appearing with Collins.

“Who can beat Jon Ossoff?” the video says. “Stay tuned.”

More on a potential Senate run by U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson), from the AJC:

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins spent the weekend lining up endorsements for a likely run for U.S. Senate as he prepares to join a growing Republican field to take on Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.

The Jackson Republican made a flurry of calls to GOP officials, allies of President Donald Trump and grassroots activists in recent days courting their support, according to multiple recipients of the calls who were not authorized to speak about the campaign. It’s the clearest sign yet that he’s poised to enter the race.

He’d join a wide-open GOP contest that lacks a clear frontrunner after Gov. Brian Kemp opted against a run and other potential heavyweights, including former U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, joined the Trump administration.

Already in the race are U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a longtime coastal Georgia lawmaker, and Insurance Commissioner John King. Former football coach Derek Dooley is also laying the groundwork for a bid, and he recently hired two of Kemp’s top political operatives.

What’s not clear is how a Collins candidacy could affect Kemp’s ongoing efforts to reach a deal with Trump on a consensus candidate. The governor has urged donors to “keep your powder dry” while talks continue, and Dooley’s recent hires of top Kemp allies signaled a possible alignment.

Ossoff, meanwhile, is seen as both a vulnerable Democrat — the only incumbent senator up for reelection in a state Trump carried — and a formidable opponent. He’s already banked more than $15.4 million and signaled he’ll make the race a referendum on Trump.

Collins appears ready to do the same. He’s teased a bid for Senate for months, framing himself as a MAGA loyalist, and he said earlier this month he would consult closely with Trump and his political team before jumping in the fray.

More on the GOP side of the 2026 U.S. Senate race, from the AJC:

Former college football coach Derek Dooley made a splash when he hired a pair of Gov. Brian Kemp’s aides as he gears up for a potential U.S. Senate bid. But he’s not the only Republican contender staffing up.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter has brought in two veterans of MAGA Inc., the pro-Donald Trump super PAC that helped power the president’s comeback win last year: Chris Grant and Ben Yoho.

Insurance Commissioner John King’s retinue, meanwhile, includes longtime Georgia GOP strategists Brandon Howell, a veteran of Carly Fiorina’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Dan McLagan, former communications director for Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Dooley and Kemp are close, as Greg Bluestein writes. The governor grew up vacationing with Dooley’s family and roomed with his brother Daniel in college. And Dooley comes from a uniquely Georgia pedigree as the son of the late legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.

Three candidates have announced for Columbus City Council elections next year, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

Five Columbus Council seats are up for reelection in 2026, as community activists have vowed to put pressure on incumbents at the ballot box following a series of controversial votes and actions.

Council seats representing Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be up for election May 19. Councilors Byron Hickey, Bruce Huff, Charmaine Crabb, Joanne Cogle and John Anker sit in these seats, respectively.

After the council voted to appoint Anker to the citywide District 9 seat, Royal Anderson, chairwoman of the Muscogee County Democratic Committee, promised in a March 25 council meeting that her organization would work to campaign against councilors who voted for the appointment.

While council seats are nonpartisan, Anderson argued that “about every decision made in these chambers means either blue or red.”

Simi Barnes, the daughter of the late Columbus Councilor Jerry “Pops” Barnes, filed paperwork to run for District 1.

Barnes criticized the council’s decision last year to have Byron Hickey succeed Pops as the District 1 councilor and fill the remaining two years of his term.

“Dad was the true definition of a statesman,” Barnes wrote in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer. “And I am both humbled and inspired by his leadership. That inspiration has led me to run for District 1 because I believe that the daily issues facing the citizens of Columbus still matter and don’t deserve to be overshadowed by the political interests of those in power.”

Christopher Kelley filed a declaration of intention to run for the District 7 seat July 11.

He is a congressional staffer working for U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, serving as the deputy district director.

Rocky Marsh is the first candidate to file a declaration of intention for next year’s council election June 12. He is running for the District 9 at-large seat.

Marsh is a retired U.S. Army Veteran and a U.S. Department of Defense civil servant budget analyst at Fort Benning. He also serves on the Columbus Crime Prevention Committee. He ran for the District 10 at-large council seat in 2024 but lost in a four-candidate race to Travis Chambers.

Grovetown is seeking candidates for two council seats, according to WRDW.

The two seats up for grabs are those of Sylvia Martin and Ceretta Smith.

All individuals intending to seek election for the councilmember role in Grovetown must submit a written application, along with a qualification fee of $150, according to the City of Grovetown.

The qualifying days are scheduled from August 18 to August 20, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. If you are interested, please stop by the office of the City Clerk at City Hall, located at 103 Old Wrightsboro Road, during business hours.

To qualify, candidates must have lived in the city of Grovetown for a minimum of one year, be registered to vote, and have reached the age of 25 before the election.

Voters who wish to participate in the election must be registered to vote and live within the city limits.

The last day to register to vote is October 6 at 5:00 p.m. The General Election will be held on November 4.

Augusta Commissioners are working to appoint a new Commissioner, according to WJBF.

Alvin Mason said goodbye to the Augusta commission five weeks ago, and now there’s a call for city leaders to do their job and fill the seat.

To get the commission back to full strength, six commissioners need to approve a nominee .

“We’re going to go in tomorrow to the meeting and listen to the nominations. We might take action tomorrow and we might not,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Wayne Guilfoyle.

Whoever the commission appoints to replace Mason will see a lot of election action if they want to remain in the seat, because there will be a special election this year and the seat is up again next year.

“So whoever is appointed, we would have to have a special election in November, so they would have to run for that, and then they would have to turn around and run again in May,” said Election Director Travis Doss.

“Whoever decides to run will be pressed with you have to run in November, you’ll have to run in May, so it’s going to be not an easy challenge for somebody,” said Guilfoyle.

Many times, commissioners can’t come to an agreement, but city leaders believe there will be a decision at Tuesday’s meeting.

State Representative Shelly Hutchinson (D-Snellville) will leave her seat next month, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

State Rep. Shelly Hutchinson, D-Snellville, has announced she will retire from her seat in the Georgia House of Representatives on Aug. 4. In a statement, Hutchinson said she was stepping down to take on more of a caregiver role for an ailing family member.

“Many of you know that I stepped back from some legislative duties this year due to a serious health crisis in my family,” Hutchinson said on in a message on her personal Facebook page.

“Unfortunately, my loved one’s condition has not improved. As their needs have grown, so has the call on my heart to be more present — not just as a caregiver, but as a daughter.”

Hutchinson has represented at least part of the Snellville area in the Georgia House of Representatives since she was first elected in 2018.

She first came into office as part of an early Blue Wave of Democrats who flipped longtime-Republican held seats in Gwinnett. It was a precursor to a larger Blue Wave that washed over the county in the 2020 election cycle.

“Serving as the State Representative for Georgia House District 106 has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Hutchinson said.

“Snellville may not be known for its singles scene, but it is overflowing with families — and I’ve had the privilege of raising my own, here in Gwinnett County. Representing the voices and values of this community has been a profound joy.”

“At the same time, I believe our district deserves full-time, focused leadership. Right now, I know I can no longer give this role the energy it requires and the people deserve.”

Her retirement announcement now sets in motion a scramble to find someone to replace Hutchinson in the House District 106 seat for the 2026 legislative session. A special election is expected, but a date for it has not yet been announced.

Two Democrats, Marqus Cole and Akbar Ali, are already running to fill the seat.

Akbar Ali, 21, kicked off his bid to replace Hutchinson on Thursday and she endorsed him in the race on Friday. Ali is a Parkview High School and Kennesaw State University graduate who is the first vice chairman of the Gwinnett County Democratic Party and a member of the county’s Transit Advisory Board.

The Georgia Department of Transportation will donate 136 acres to the proposed Ocmulgee National Park, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

The proposed Ocmulgee National Park just grew by 136 acres thanks to a land donation by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The agency recently inked a deal to transfer the land along Interstate 16 southeast of Macon, Eric Duff, the agency’s environmental administrator, told the State Transportation Board Wednesday.

The property is mostly a thriving wetlands area. The DOT acquired the Bibb County property in 1998 as wetlands mitigation for a freeway in nearby Twiggs County.

“It’s a continuation of the work that we do every day to improve the relationships with our tribal partners, with the National Park Service,” Duff said.

The handoff is the latest sign of progress in a bipartisan effort to promote the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park into a national park and preserve.

It would be a simple name change with major implications for tourism and development.

While the United States has 63 national parks, the vast majority are out West. Georgia has none, but four neighbors — South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida — either share one or have one of their own.

Ocmulgee is among 370 lesser properties overseen by the National Park Service. It draws around 160,000 a year, but national park status could increase that nearly tenfold to almost 1.4 million annual visitors within a decade, advocates say. Studies indicate this would generate thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in annual economic activity.

National park status would also promote recognition of a painful chapter in American history when Native Americans were driven from their ancestral lands in Georgia.

The Ocmulgee Mounds area was continuously inhabited for at least 12,000 years, beginning with the Ice Age, says the National Park Service. During the Mississippian Period, starting in the 900s, native peoples constructed mounds for their elite, landmarks that endure as a central attraction.

The desire to promote Ocmulgee to national park status has been in circulation since at least 1933, when the Macon Historical Society and Junior Chamber of Commerce pitched it. The next year, the local congressman, Democratic Rep. Carl Vinson, introduced legislation for a national park. He wound up with a lesser designation, but the dream for top-tier status lived on.

Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have been collaborating to make the promotion a reality, with nearly every member of the Georgia delegation on board. And the Muscogee Nation, whose ancestors were forcibly moved to Oklahoma by the U.S. government in 1836, is working on the promotion. The tribe would have a role in guiding the new national park’s management.

Seth Clark, the Macon mayor pro tem and current leader of the grassroots force behind this movement, said he expects the congressional committee process to begin in a couple of months. It was underway last year but got derailed by bigger issues, such as the federal budget. Clark, who is executive director of The Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, told the transportation board that he expects the mission to be complete during this Congress, which ends in January 2027.

The current historical park would anchor the national park. Proponents would raise money to buy another 7,100 acres, expanding the attraction to about 10,000 acres. The addition would be a federally managed preserve with fishing and hunting.

The Georgia DOT land donation, inked in April but revealed at Wednesday’s transportation committee meeting, expands the core park. The transaction concludes a process that started more than a dozen years ago.

The National Park Service asked Georgia DOT in 2012 if it was interested in including the land as part of a national park feasibility study. The state agreed. Then, at the start of this decade, the federal government asked for the land. In 2023, the state sent a letter of intent to transfer it.

“This gift is more than acreage,” said Jacob Collins, a Park Service tribal liaison at Thursday’s DOT board meeting. “It represents the preservation of sacred grounds.”

From the Macon Telegraph:

“We at the Georgia Department of Transportation are pleased to make this sizable donation of land, which will have a profound and meaningful impact,” said GDOT Commissioner Russell R. McMurry. “This acreage is rich with cultural significance and history, and we are proud to contribute to the expansion of the Park.”

“This land holds profound cultural and historical meaning for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation,” said Principal Chief David Hill. “Each step in reclaiming and protecting this sacred ground is a step toward healing and honoring our ancestors. We are grateful to the State of Georgia and to the many partners who are helping to restore and protect the original footprint of Ocmulgee.”

The donation from GDOT supports a broader regional conservation effort to protect the Ocmulgee River Corridor as both a cultural and ecological landmark and a driver of economic development.

“This land donation is a perfect example of how local, state, and tribal collaboration can lead to meaningful conservation outcomes,” said Seth Clark, executive director of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative and mayor pro tempore of Macon. “The gift of this tract is major progress in middle Georgia’s long-term vision for the Ocmulgee Corridor; it shows that Georgians at every level are up to the task of keeping our end of the bargain and protecting this unique landscape for generations to come.”

The land donation was made possible by the 2019 John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, a law which authorized the expansion of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and gave the park the authority to accept the donation, according to the release.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources wants to add four coastal islands to protection under the Bird Island Rule, according to the Savannah Morning News.

The Ogeechee Bar is one of the last remaining sites for breeding shorebirds and seabirds along the Georgia coast, along with the Brunswick Bird Island, Cumberland Dividings, and Little Tybee Cabbage Island Natural Area. The DNR is now proposing to list these four islands under the protection of the Bird Island Rule enacted in 1998 to shelter five of Georgia’s bird breeding islands from human disturbance. But now that these five islands are already compromised, adding these four islands is necessary to protect vulnerable eggs and chicks—especially from pets.

“Someone out here with a dog could wipe out most of the productivity from the state of Georgia and America,” says Georgia DNR program manager Timothy Keyes.

Georgia’s coast has long served as a rest stop along the Atlantic Flyaway for birds migrating at least a few thousand miles between South America and Greenland, or in some cases, as far as the Arctic Circle.

Many of those migrating birds historically nested on Georgia’s beach fronts but have left as swaths of shorelines were overtaken by tourism, development and terrestrial predators. When they turned to natural sand bars that formed at the mouths of rivers, those disappeared, too. “In the last 15 or 20 years, we’ve had much more erosion and loss than we have had accretion,” says Keyes. And “sea level rise on the coast doesn’t help.”

But it appeared that five islands could still provide nesting nooks offshore. In 1998, the DNR enacted the Bird Island Rule to protect the entirety of St. Catherines Island Bar Natural Area, Egg Island Bar Natural Area and Satilla River Marsh Island Natural Area, and restricted parts of the Pelican Spit Natural Area and Williamson Island from human activity. On all, pets are prohibited.

Not only will the DNR add four new sites in the proposed rule change, but it will also be able to add or remove future islands when needed. Like the tides, islands and sand bars will continue to fluctuate through further erosion and storm events, and possibly, predator intrusion. While the DNR is also looking at solutions for beach renourishment and island stability, those may only be temporary fixes.

Sea turtle nest watchers on Tybee Island are concerned this year, according to WTOC.

We are in the middle of Tybee Island’s sea turtle nesting season, and already 18 nests have been discovered on the island so far.

Four of those nests have already hatched. It’s been an eventful season so far with one of those hatchlings somehow making it to a local business on the island.

Right now, Tybee’s record for a nesting season is 35 nests, and they’re already about halfway there!

But there have already been some issues caused by humans, making this season difficult for them.

On Sunday, the turtle patrol found a mama sea turtle stuck in a hole made by a human.

These hatchlings are also the size of potato chips, so even tiny holes in the sand can cause issues for them.

Beachgoers should also be aware of their surroundings, remembering we’re sharing space with these turtles.

“One of the nests this season when we got to it. There were already eggs kind of sitting out. Um, and then we got a report that some people were hanging out in that area. So to us, that just said that she was in a hurry, right? She was trying to drop those eggs that she was distracted by something that humans were probably out there with her, unfortunately,” said program director Alli Williford.

“Things that people don’t realize, like building a sandcastle and leaving it there, a little hatchling, trying to get to the water can absolutely get stopped by a sandcastle and can’t figure out how to get around it. Holes in the sand are a big one. We had a nest last night and that mama was definitely spent a little bit of time in that hole.”

Glynn County Commissioners voted to table a proposed e-bike regulation, according to The Brunswick News.

Glynn County Commission Chairman Walter Rafolski said the need for proposed amendments to the ordinance had been discussed at many meetings in recent months and he did not expect any dissension in a vote to approve the changes.

Commissioner Sammy Tostensen made the motion to table action, which passed by a 4-3 vote, until the Sept. 4 meeting after expressing concerns about enforcement of violations and how the amendment could affect his commission district and others outside the city of Brunswick, where the ordinance would not apply. Tostensen represents District 1, the least developed district on the mainland.

The prohibition includes but is not limited to unauthorized motorized vehicles such as golf carts, Class-3 e-bikes, electric motorcycles (e-motos) and all-terrain vehicles.

Rafolski said while complaints on St. Simons Island generated the proposed ordinance changes, it would be unfair to have different bike and e-bike rules on the island and mainland.

“It’s more of an island problem but the same rules should apply to everybody,” he said.

Whitfield County Commissioners and Dalton City Council discussed the budget effects of lower property tax millage rates, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

Officials with both the city of Dalton and Whitfield County say cuts made to their 2024 property tax rates will have no effect on their budgets.

The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted earlier this month to set the final 2024 property tax rate at 4.3 mills, down from the tentative 5.536 mills it set in November 2024.

The new rate is actually slightly less than the 4.345 mills rollback rate needed to cancel out any gains in revenue from the final 2024 reassessment.

“Our budget and revenue for 2024 were met by the first collections sent out last winter,” said Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen. “We have already closed and paid out all salaries and invoices for fiscal year 2024, so no additional funds were needed, and nothing needs to be cut from last year. We set the millage rate for this second 2024 billing extremely low temporarily to avoid taxpayers owing the county a second time.”

The Dalton City Council earlier this month set its final 2024 tax rate at 1.527 mills, down from the 1.841 mills it set the rate at in November 2024.

“The final estimated tax collections for the 2024 digest is estimated at $8,428,075,” said City Administrator Andrew Parker. “The city came in under budget for 2024 in expenditures, primarily due to lapsed and unfunded positions, so no cuts had to be made.”

In June, commissioners set a tentative 2025 tax rate of 5 mills. City Council members set a tentative 2025 tax rate of 1.6 mills. Both will set their final 2025 tax rates this fall.

Jefferson County Commissioners are working to set their property tax millage rate, according to WJBF.

Nine months after Hurricane Helene, states and counties are still dealing with the damage and paying contractors from reimbursements requests. Jefferson County received $19,172,937.50 but are still awaiting two more requests around $20 million dollars.

“I want to commend our County Administrator Jerry Coalson and all the work he and his staff has done,” said Commission Chairman Mitchell McGraw. “He probably was the first to get in the FEMA application before the deadline. This has been a total team effort and we have really worked hard and together on this to be able to pay local contractors and move on.”

The Trees Act, HB 223 was passed this past legislative session by the Georgia General  Assembly to aid timber growers to be able to receive tax relief in counties where timber production was affected by Hurricane Helene.

According to the act, any timber sold in the last quarter of 2024 after the area was declared a disaster area or in 2025 will have a 100% reduction in the timber tax paid. However, Coalson suggested a resolution that would only require one certification for city, county and school taxing authorities. Certification includes pictures of the damaged timber.

The county referendum on the FLOST IGA which will provide a one cent sales tax for Jefferson County and the municipalities that signed on to the intergovernmental agreement for the purpose of providing taxpayer relief by HB 681 will be held Nov. 4, 2025.

Coalson also stated he would like to set a tentative millage rate of 12.5 mills, which is a half mill less than last year.

“We will actually vote on the millage rate during a meeting Aug. 26 at 10 a.m., but I believe based off the information from the tax digest we can set the millage rate at 12.5 tentatively,” Coalson said.

Long County is looking to lease their jail, according to WSAV.

Long County Manager Chuck Scraggs confirmed that they have entered lease negotiations.

News 3 has learned through sources that the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) has reportedly visited the facility previously and could return this week. WSAV was shown paperwork indicating GDC could be the leasing agent, but Scraggs would neither confirm nor deny GDC’s involvement.

If the jail is leased out, current inmates would have to remain at other jails.

Scraggs said that Long County asked for a tax anticipation note from the bank after realizing the budget had come in short.

Scraggs said the jail would not be able to be funded until after Jan. 1, potentially, depending on help from the bank.

“What happened is that our taxes have come in short,” Scraggs said. “Far short of what was budgeted, and we are having to defer that. We asked for a tax anticipation note from the bank originally for that for about $470,000 or half a million. When we saw the shortfall in taxes, we had to ask for that note for payroll and bills.”

Scraggs said, “So that slid the tax anticipation note to open the jail back. Then the bank informed us that we’re sort of up against the cap because we’re asking for another $500,000 to make it to October 15th, which is when the state refunds our insurance money and we’ll be able to get from there into the tax season, which is mostly December.”

“That’s when our property taxes come in. That means we cannot get a tax anticipation note to open the jail until after January 1st. And then you’re looking at literally a two month time frame to open the jail and then one month without income due to taking inmates in that we won’t be able to hold until 30 days later.”

“So, you’re looking at April 1st to get money. If negotiations don’t work here, we will look to do something after the first of the year.”

Muscogee County School District is placing weapons detectors at three schools, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

[MCSD chief operations officer Travis] Anderson didn’t disclose the cost of this initiative, but he told the board revenue from the 1% Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that Columbus voters renewed in 2024 will pay for it.

The weapon detectors won’t be installed by the time classes start for the 2025 fall semester on Aug. 4, Anderson said.

“It will be a slow rollout throughout the district,” he said. “But before September is over, all those schools will be fully implemented with the weapons detection system if they have high school or middle school students, as will our athletic facilities.”

Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools are also thinking about school safety, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Since last September’s shooting incident at Apalachee High School school security has been a major focus of state legislators and Governor Brian Kemp, who allocated $294 million towards school safety grants this past year. He also signed a number of school-focused legislative measures into law last April.

Included in those measures was House Bill 268, which passed with majority bipartisan support in both the state House and Senate. The bill, in part, requires school districts to update mapping and mobile panic alert systems. Last year the Savannah-Chatham Public School System applied Critical Response Group’s (CRG’s) military-grade mapping technology to 63 of its schools and building facilities.

At the July 9 regular board meeting, the board approved $4 million for audio enhancements for schools who have yet to receive them. The enhancements include the SAFE (Signal Alert for Education) System, which allows teachers wearing a class microphone to discreetly signal for help in the event of an emergency. The district’s operations team and Savannah-Chatham Board of Education Police Department (BOEPD) Chief Terry Enoch said any new or recently renovated facilities have already received the enhancements during construction, while other facilities were in line to receive them by July 2026.

The investment follows other school security spending by the board. At the June 25 Special Board Meeting, the board approved $618,000 for new police radios and MDTs (mobile data terminals) to replace older ones. The approved funds were transferred from vacant salaries. During the same meeting, the board also approved a $450,000 annual contract renewal for Axis IP Security Cameras and related hardware and software.

HB 268 requires local boards to establish an anonymous reporting program, if not already in place. The law also created the offenses of “terroristic threat of a school” and “terroristic act upon a school.”

The Whitfield County Board of Elections is making changes in voting locations, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

Warner Robins hired a new Finance Director, according to 13WMAZ.