Stockbridge City Manager Michael Harris issued a statement containing the city’s opinion and the financial terms being discussed.
“The City of Stockbridge and Henry County are in the process of renegotiating their long-standing agreement for police coverage for residents of Stockbridge,” he wrote. “The Henry County Police Department has provided coverage for the City of Stockbridge since 1978. Stockbridge officials assure residents that there will be no lapse in police protection for the city as negotiations continue.”
Aside from paying a previously agreed-upon fee of $500,000 per year for police services, Harris stated that the city has provided additional funds that average $2,617,639 per year over the last five years, and the city also has provided a police precinct building valued at $253,876 annually.
The county has proposed raising the $500,000 fee to $2 million per year over the next ten years, according to Harris, while the city made a counterproposal of $750,000 per year and asked for supporting documentation from the county that would support any increase.
“We believe the County has understated the amount that the City of Stockbridge has been paying for police services,” Harris wrote. “In the meantime, we expect that Henry County will continue to provide police protection for our citizens as we negotiate in good faith.”
Mr. Britt here is a piece that I noticed tonight. Since the restaurant in Henry County that was raising the roof because they didn’t pass the strict health department rules had a retest and passed this time. The local newspaper has five links on the homepage referencing the new article which pretty much roles the health inspectors over the coals like they are villains. They are doing their job and they have taken the scoring to a new high to make sure the restaurants are safe for its patrons. That is what most people want. But instead the paper wants to help tout around the innuendo about the health inspectors. If someone gets food poisoning and dies, then the public will want the head of the inspector who looked the other way to satisfy a owner of a eatery who can’t take it. This is known as attack mode by them and even spreading the word around that the county doesn’t want restaurants. Any one looking around will see restaurants on every
corner. And there are some good ones who regularly have good inspections and if they happen to falter don’t go on attack mode with facts and figures from around the state. The people of Henry County better worry about Henry County and be thankful that these inspectors are doing an outstanding job.
Sean Putnam
Henry County
The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following a link on this site. Any article sent by citizens are their own property.
Watching the Henry County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday evening was very irritating for my family to watch. We have all known for years that the reason Henry County was hired to provided police services for the City of Stockbridge is because of the bad police department that existed in the middle 1970’s. Old Chief Collier and his men were always going after people with out of county tags. The State of Georgia came down hard on the City and when Rudy Kelley was elected Mayor in 1978 he dissolved the police department with the aid of the Stockbridge City Council and in the process hired Henry County to provide police service for the city. Now the Board of Commissioners feel that it is time for the city to pay much more money and the city cannot see tripling the price they pay for their service and then let them have a nice precinct building for a low price. Sounds like the $10 a year rent on that old bank building. We listened as the
Commissioners were ready to throw the citizens of Stockbridge out with the bath water. Commissioners Holmes and Prince were being very vocal about not wanting to work with the city anymore. Commissioner Barham felt that the police service should not be turned away from the people. My brother said that the citizens pay enough property taxes to the county to cover any police service that is offered. He said it sounds like double pay to him. Mr. Prince made a remark saying that it wasn’t fair to the people of Locust Grove not to have a police unit available because it is in Stockbridge. He needs to understand that Locust Grove has had it’s own police department all along with over 20 officers at any given time. And I have a good friend who lives in the Locust Grove area and he said that there are always police and sheriff’s vehicles going to the shooting range outside Locust Grove. My brother said that Prince needs to do another assessment
of the situation. If it weren’t for the begging of current sitting County Manager Cheri Mathews and County Attorney Jaugstetter the commissioners would have taken the police from Stockbridge last night. Instead they will meet again on July 7th and hopefully the people from the county manager’s office can meet further with the people from the city of Stockbridge and bring a resolution to this matter that will be the best for both parties. If the City of Stockbridge has to create its own police department then they will likely have to start having another city property tax for the citizens. This will make many growl because they haven’t had a property tax in years. The whole matter is using the citizens as pawns in the game that is being played with the lives of those who must be protected. My father said that our only hope lies with the talks between the County Manager and the City Manager Mr. Harris and hopefully Mayor Thompson. We live off
of Flippen Road and in the complex across the road from our home is where the gang killing happened several years ago. With the influx of people the police will be needed in Stockbridge. The people are waiting for answers and decisions instead of threats and bickering. That has gotten old. It is time for those who are elected to lead to become true statesmen and lay aside petty grievances.
H.B.
Stockbridge
The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following a link on this site. Any article sent by citizens are their own property.
Mr. Britt, if you would please print this information on your blog. I am a resident of the City of Stockbridge and attended the June 8th meeting of the city council. After they finished releasing Ms. Buschman from being investigated about wrong doing towards the charter and being an elected official on the DDA which she explained was the case and if she weren’t one of them would have to be according to the rules of the DDA. I have also noticed that since a new DDA board was seated that nothing of any worth towards getting the property or money returned to the city that was given away by out going Mayor Alarcon on December 30, 2013. This should have never occurred. Then we learn that the old bank building that is known as the Stockbridge Multiplex was bought for $750,000 and renovations were completed at a cost of over $200,000 which gives it a price tag of about one million dollars of tax payer money involved. Former mayor Alarcon and city
manager Milliron put the theater company in there from Avondale where Mr. Milliron is a resident. Then, this property was given to the DDA. The theater group is paying $10 dollars a year for a lease. That’s right only $10 a year. That is roughly 83 cents a month. Now if this sweet of a deal can be made for other residents let’s go for it. I am in agreement with Mayor Thompson that the property should be returned before anymore tax money is spent on the building and that it should be as originally proposed as the senior and youth center for Stockbridge and named for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his honor since his father is from Stockbridge. These are the facts that we know presently and I am sure there are other revelations that will come forward. And also one other thing if I might, Mr. Houston Nelson is the new head of the DDA placed in this position by the current council and mayor. It would seem appropriate that any committee or
board created and seated by a mayor and council these people should answer to them or be replaced. The mayor told Mr. Nelson in open session that he is in his office 3 days a week and that he should be reaching out to the mayor not the other way around. If this person cannot do the job effectively as seems the case then replace him and any other members that are placed there by this council or even dissolve the DDA and create a better program for the citizens of Stockbridge. This is what I saw and anyone can view on the Stockbridge City website. Thank you to Mayor Thompson and those who on the council are trying to do the right things for us the people.
W. G.
Stockbridge, Georgia
The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following a link on this site. Any article sent by citizens are their own property.
