OUTLOOK: SPLOST, service agreements, consolidation key Dougherty issues in 2016

ALBANY — Residents of Dougherty County can expect a bit of the old and the new during 2016 as the Dougherty County Commission considers issues that will impact those residents’ quality of life as well as their pocketbooks.

The city-county Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax VII will be on the ballot this year as citizens determine whether they want to continue paying a 1 percent tax that has resulted in millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements and enhanced services since it was signed into law by the state Legislature in 1985. The county must also negotiate a series of service agreements with Albany officials to determine which governing body provides which essential services to citizens throughout the city and county and at what cost to the government not providing the services.

“These agreements have been vital to the county and the city for a long time,” County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said. “Our city and county governments are at the forefront with regard to service delivery agreements to the extent that a large majority of services provided to our citizens are already consolidated.

“Fortunately, I believe (Albany Mayor) Dorothy Hubbard, (City Manager) Sharon Subadan, (County Administrator) Richard Crowdis and myself will come up with collaborative agreements to present to our boards that make the best business sense.”

It may be a touch of irony that led Cohilas to mention the C-word (consolidation) in describing city and county services, because the commission chairman admitted moments later that consolidation of the city and county governments will most likely resurface in the coming year.

“Like any good business, organization or government charged with the duty of self-evaluation, one of the things we as a group need to evaluate is whether consolidation of our governments would bring benefits to the citizens of Albany and Dougherty County and whether they have the right to vote for how they’re governed,” Cohilas said. “To me, this is a voting rights issue, and I believe citizens have the right to determine the way they’re governed.

“Our forefathers fought for civil rights, women’s rights and the right for every citizen of this country to vote. We owe it to our citizens to gather as much information about the negatives and positives (of consolidation) as possible and present it to them. I think we have to take a close, collaborative look at this issue and provide opportunities for communitywide discussion.”

With the county’s annual retreat looming, a gathering during which commissioners discuss issues of concern and formulate a plan to address them, commissioners talked about some of their priority concerns in 2016.

LAMAR HUDGINS, District 1: “Of course, with SPLOST VII coming up, we’ve got to start developing a list of projects to determine which ones to present to our constituents. When you talk about making infrastructure improvements and buying equipment for our various departments, SPLOST has allowed us to do so many things we never could have done without it. I’d be scared to think about where Albany and Dougherty County would be without SPLOST.

“We also have some important discussions we’ve got to have with our counterparts in the city. We’ve got to determine the split of the SPLOST collections, and there are several service agreements that we have to work out. I believe this commission, which is a relatively new one with three newer members, has gelled together really well. We’re working together, I think, to do what’s best for our citizens. We have to take that same collaborative spirit into our discussions with the city.”

JOHN HAYES, District 2: “Jobs have to remain at the forefront of virtually every discussion we have this year. Hand-in-hand with that has to be education. In the past, government leaders have kind of passed the buck and said, ‘That’s not what we do.’ But education is something we all must must address. I plan to start a door-to-door campaign to talk with our citizens and see what needs to happen to get them engaged in the process.

“The county has an obligation to become full partners in this process. We know jobs are our primary concern, but it is our duty to make sure we have a well-prepared, well-educated work force ready to fill those jobs. And our economic development leaders have got to reach beyond their comfort zone to find those jobs. .”

CLINTON JOHNSON, District 3: “When you look at the state of Georgia, Albany is the last of the major cities that doesn’t have a consolidated city-county government. Even if we never get to the point that a referendum is presented to the citizens to vote on the matter, we have to send a message to the capital that we don’t have to have something like that for our governments to work together. We’ve shown a willingness to work with the city on issues that benefit our citizens.

“Economic development is always a concern, and I think the wheels are starting to turn more in a positive direction in our diverse community. SPLOST and infrastructure improvements, like sidewalks and lighting, are going to come up during this year, but I think the key for improving our community is for everyone to just remember what’s important and focus on that. That’s going to be vital in our getting behind the issues that impact us. That’s how we’ll move the needle forward.”

EWELL LYLE, District 4: “Maybe I’m an eternal optimist, but I believe we’ve set the stage to accomplish some good things in our community this year. We have a lot of work to do in the next seven or eight months to put together a SPLOST projects list that addresses the really important needs of our community, and I think there is a bit of pressure on us to work collaboratively with city officials to make sure real needs are addressed.

“And while I don’t think the county’s in dire straits right now as far as our infrastructure concerns, I do believe we have to work to get more SPLOST and LMIG (state DOT-funded Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant) funding for street repairs. I also think we need to take a close look at committee appointments for the new year, and we need to do everything we can to go back to the first two or three SPLOSTs and complete all the projects we can so that we can close out those funds.”

HARRY JAMES, District 5: “One of the things I will push for this year is a local (small and minority business) participation program so that we can get our businesses involved more in local projects and keep our tax money at home. That’s something I’m working hard with State Rep. (Winfred) Dukes and State Sen. (Freddie Powell) Sims on. And one of the things that’s encouraging is that the new state Transportation bill offers small businesses opportunities to bid on projects through an easy-to-navigate (online) marketplace.

“One of my primary objectives this year will be to work with my colleagues to move this county forward. We’ve got to join hands and fight the same fight, tackle these issues together, if we’re going to bring new industry — and jobs — into our community.”

ANTHONY JONES, District 6: “I think we’ve seen through the efforts we’ve made to improve our library system that we can turn things around in this community. Two years ago we had to close down two of our branches, and our system was on the brink of collapse. We’re about to reopen the second of those two branches, and once the Southside branch is up and running, I want to really start thinking about the possibility of putting a branch in the southeastern part of the county. It may take time, but it’s not impossible.

“I’m proud that we were able to give our hard-working employees a pay increase this past year, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure we continue to reward them for their hard work.