Legislative Study Committees Continue to Meet
Several of the study committees created by the General Assembly during the 2019 session continue to hold hearings and solicit feedback on issues of importance to Georgia counties. Of particular importance, the
House Rural Development Council (RDC) met in Kingsland/Camden County on Oct. 29-30 to explore transportation, trade, timber, labor, solar panel and agriculture issues facing rural Georgia. The RDC then met on Nov. 12-13 in Eatonton/Putnam County to focus on rural healthcare issues. In addition, the
House Study Committee on “Workforce Housing” met on Sept. 30 in Dahlonega/Lumpkin County to hear from various development industries on the need for the state to preempt local government design standards on residential housing, multi-family and manufactured housing, and commercial development within their communities.
To view the videos, agendas and presentation of these House study committee meetings, please click
here.
For an update on the Senate’s study committees, please click
here.
ACCG Asks Counties to Adopt Resolution Supporting Local Government Design Standards
ACCG sincerely appreciates Georgia’s counties actively participating in advocacy efforts important to preserving home rule and local control. Both will be threatened next legislative session as two bills (
HB 302
and
SB 172) would prohibit local governments from adopting any design standards on single family homes and duplexes – with very limited exceptions. Whether your county supports adopting design standards or not, this is a decision that should be made by you and your constituents at the local government level. ACCG and GMA have developed this
draft resolution for your county to consider adopting in showing support for keeping this a local decision.
For a brief background and update on this issue, please click
here.
Model Resolution for Sales Tax Information Requests
As a reminder, SB 171 from 2018 (an ACCG priority) allows local governments to request information related to vendors that are currently paying sales taxes that are attributable to that local government. For those counties that have not previously made such a request, ACCG’s model resolution (found
here
) can serve as a starting point. The Georgia Department of Revenue’s 2019 Policy Bulletin providing more detail on submittal of request for vendor lists may be found
here
. Please contact Larry Ramsey at
lramsey@accg.org
with any questions regarding this process.
Register Now for GOMI Webinar for County Officials and Staff
ACCG in partnership with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), will be hosting a webinar
in November on how to complete the Government Management Indicators Survey (GOMI). In addition to providing an overview about this report and how it should be submitted, staff from ACCG and DCA will also discuss the most common errors made in submitting the report and best practices counties can utilize to provide more accurate information. This mandatory report plays a vital role in the way that ACCG collects and analyzes data, therefore helping the association better serve you, our counties. Click
here to register for the webinar.
If you want to submit questions in advance of the webinar, please send them to Michele NeSmith at
mnesmith@accg.org. This is a great opportunity for both staff and commissioners to learn more about this report.
Georgia ReConnect Broadband Workshop in Atlanta
The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is partnering with the United States Department of Agriculture (
USDA) to host a Georgia ReConnect Broadband
workshop
on December 5, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. Sign up to learn about the planning process and resources available to help expand broadband infrastructure in your county. For all the details and to register, click
here.
Do You Know Your GDOT District Engineer?
Do you know your Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) District Engineer? GDOT has seven districts and each has a District Engineer who is responsible for all of the Department’s activities within their district. As part of their job responsibilities, they meet with local elected officials, soliciting input and keeping them informed regarding transportation activities affecting their communities. Check out the
GDOT District map
to find your District Engineer’s name and contact info.
