Dougherty County Commission hears request to hold 2022 early voting at Civic Center

ALBANY — A request for funding to rent the Albany Civic Center for voting, “tiny homes” and an employee pay study were among the topics tackled on Monday during a Dougherty County Commission work session.

Frederick Williams, chairman of the Dougherty County Board of Registration and Elections, cited crowding and residents forced to wait outside for long periods of time in seeking to move elections next year from the Flint River Resource Center.

“I have a real easy task today, and that is to ask for some money for the ‘22 year,” he said, drawing chuckles from commissioners. “Last year we utilized the Civic Center for voting, and it was a tremendously good idea. We had great results. We had very few problems with restrictions and keeping order.”

The cost to hold 13 days of early voting at the Civic Center totaled $35,000, he said, and the request for the 2022 election is for 17 days. Williams said he plans to ask the city of Albany to split costs with the county.

During early voting last year, the state system used by counties crashed in the early days of polling, resulting in people waiting for hours outside in some cases.

Prior to that, Commissioner Russell Gray said, there had not been issues at the resource center. The county’s population also has declined while the cost for elections has continued to climb.

“I look at the general trend of elections going up and up and up,” Gray said. “I guess from a fiscal responsibility, if you look at the cost per vote or cost per turnout, there’s a pretty big financial burden on the county. I just have a hard time funding more and more to pay for the cost for an election. We’re not really getting any more people in to vote.”

Commissioner Clinton Johnson thanked Williams for being proactive in bringing the request to the commission well ahead of the 2022 elections that will include the governor’s race and other statewide contests.

The county also could seek out grants or use American Rescue Plan Act funds meant to mitigate the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Gloria Gaines said.

“I know we did this (grant funding) last time, especially with COVID, because this is related to COVID,” she said.

On the topic of tiny houses, residential structures of 400 square feet or less, Albany-Dougherty Planning Services Director Paul Forgey reported that the Albany-Dougherty Planning Commission could examine the issue in December and make recommendations on related zoning ordinances in early 2022.

Forgey, who was asked to give a presentation about the homes, said that manufacturers do not recommend them as primary residences. However, there are some individuals who use them as their primary dwelling, and low-cost tiny homes could be an alternative for housing the homeless.

Currently, zoning statutes allow the homes only in recreational vehicle parks. The county could adopt state regulations or adopt its own standards for the unincorporated county areas, including for the establishment of developments made up of small houses, Forgey said.

A recommendation for a pay study made during Monday’s meeting would cost the county $39,700. County staff recommended accepting that bid from the Management Advisory Group based in Spartanburg, S.C.

The commission increased pay for public safety officers, including police and ambulance service, earlier this year and agreed to hire a consultant to examine the salaries of the balance of employees at a later time.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]