Category Archives: Hawkinsville
Pad Ready Site is underway at the Industrial Park
As a city commissioner, I’m excited to share with you an important initiative underway in Hawkinsville—the development of a PAD READY site at our Industrial Park. You might be wondering, what exactly is a pad-ready site, and why is it such a big deal for our community?
A pad-ready site is a piece of land that has been fully prepared for immediate development. This means the site is already graded and leveled, with utilities like water, sewer, electricity, and sometimes even broadband, already installed. Environmental studies and permitting are also taken care of, so when a business or industry comes in, they can start construction without delays. This speeds up the process of bringing new jobs and opportunities to Hawkinsville.
By developing a pad-ready site at our Industrial Park, we are making Hawkinsville more attractive to businesses looking to relocate or expand. These companies don’t want to wait months or years to get a site ready—they want to hit the ground running. With a pad-ready site, we can offer them exactly that: a fast-track to getting their operations up and running, which means quicker job creation and a boost to our local economy.
This project is a significant investment in the future of Hawkinsville. It positions us to be more competitive in attracting businesses and ensures that our city is ready to grow and prosper. We’re excited about the opportunities this brings and look forward to sharing more updates as the site develops.
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Podcast on Tax Digest Appeal
Check out this incredible AI generated podcast based on my post about how to go about appealing your assessment value. AI is pretty incredible.
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When to Appeal your Property Taxes
As mentioned in a previous post, Pulaski County has re-assessed all property in Pulaski County. Once you receive the notice with your new property value assessment, you have 45 days to appeal that valuation. I have heard several people say, “I am going to wait and see what my actual taxes are first.” In other words, they want to wait until the governmental entities set their millage rates. This won’t work. The governments can’t set their millage rates until the digest is VERIFIED by the Tax Commissioner and he can’t do that until all appeals are done. So forget the “estimated tax” information, just concentrate on the ASSESSED VALUE of your property. If you feel it is too high, then head on down to the Tax Assessors’ office and they will help you file an appeal on that valuation. They are nice folks and will help you in the process. They want the same thing as all of us – for all property in Pulaski County to be valued correctly.
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Pulaski County Property Tax Reassessments
PROPERTY TAX NOTICES IN PULASKI COUNTY.
Pulaski County has sent out notices regarding new property values in Pulaski County. The Pulaski County Board of Assessors Office has been re-evaluating property values over the last few years and they have finally completed this work. AS PER CURRENT STATE LAW, the county is required to mail out notices of what the new property values are. Also required by law, the notices include an ESTIMATED TAXES based on the new property value multiplied by LAST YEARS millage rates. PLEASE NOTE: The ACTUAL millage rates have not been set. Each governmental entity (County, School, and City) all have to set their individual millage rates BASED on the new valuations. Each governmental entity can ROLL BACK the millage rates if they so desire. The county, city, school all need a certain dollar amount (total budget) to operate. The budget is then divided by the new tax digest to determine their current millage rates. (overly simplified example).
Therefore, until these entities set their millage rates, your current TAX BILL AMOUNT is unknown. The ESTIMATED Total Tax on the notice that you received is therefore NOT accurate. However, state law REQUIRES it be reported this way. This is a bad law and it has been changed but the new law goes into effect NEXT YEAR.
So….. Some OVERLY simplified examples: If ALL properties doubled in value and ALL budgets were the same as last year, then each millage rate could be cut in half and everyone would pay exactly what they did last year. Now again, this is an over simplification. The different government bodies MAY increase their budgets so this is yet to be determined. There may be limiting factors (I think such may be for the school system) that their millage rates HAVE to be a certain millage or higher. There are lots of extenuating situations, but this gives you an idea.
ALSO, it is important how your property’s value changed IN RELATION TO ALL OTHER PROPERTIES. Again – extremely oversimplified example, but if your property increased in value by 10% but all other properties (on average) in the county increased by 30% then you should see a 20% REDUCTION in your tax bill compared to last year (assuming same budgets, etc.). In contrast, if your property’s value increased by 30% and ALL other properties (on average) increased on 10% then you will see a much larger increase than your neighbors. So it is all relevant.
The main point of this statement is: YOUR TAX BILL HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED. Each government body must determine its millage rate BASED ON THE TOTAL TAX DIGEST valuation. So regardless of the statement in the mail that is ESTIMATING your tax doubling or tripling, NO ONE KNOWS YET. The county is simply having to follow the letter of the law. Don’t panic yet.
And when the final tax bills ARE sent out, please notice the breakdown. Don’t blame the city if the school system charges more or visa versa. Don’t blame the county if the city raises taxes and visa versa.
Also, PLEASE READ the pink shaded letter included with the notices. It basically says in legalize what I am trying to say here in a little easier to understand format.
I hope this helps to lesson the panic involved with these notices. Even though I am aware of what I have just said, my personal notice indicated a more than doubling. It is hard not to be upset. But again – THESE ESTIMATES are NOT concluded yet.
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Hawkinsville / Pulaski Animal Control
I am very embarrassed to admit that although I have been on the city council some 13 years, I had never visited our animal control shelter. A few weeks ago, our office cat went missing so my wife Vonnie went to the shelter to see if Butch Chafin (our animal control officer) had picked him up. He had not but Vonnie came home upset about the number of animals at our shelter. Butch does a good job but we (the city and county) have not given him the tools, resources, knowledge, or facilities to run that shelter in a first class manner. There are too many dogs for the number of cages, cats are in the same building, adoption procedures need to be improved, and some animals were reaching end of their allotted “time.”.
So this put Vonnie on a mission. And when Vonnie is on a mission, guess what? Shelly is on a mission. I visited the facility and then visited a great facility in Cochran in order to compare. We have LOTS of room for improvement. However, I want to let everyone know that improvements have already started – things work SLOWLY in government but great things ARE going to happen.
- Vonnie got a great home for one of the dogs and then posted pictures of the other dogs and that got re-posted on Facebook. Now several of the dogs have been adopted.
- Fencing is being donated to the city and our workers will install the fencing at the facility in order to give the dogs a place to run and provide a holding pen.
- We are taking a large portable building there and will convert it to the cat facility in order to separate the dogs and cats. (Update: We are adding to the existing structure rather than moving this portable building)
- We have pronounced our facility as a NO KILL shelter.
- One of my fellow commissioners has gone and visited the facility in Perry. We plan on having ALL commissioners visit our facility as a group in January.
- We plan on working with groups such as the one in Cochran to get plans and procedures in place to get all animals adopted and cared for.
- All animals will be posted on a city maintained animal control Facebook page to help adoptions and lost pets.
- We will find some training for our animal control officer to attend.
- I plan on putting in next year’s budget (July 2018 – June 2019) enough money to renovate/expand our facility and make it TOP NOTCH. We will improve the conditions.
Hawkinsville is a first class community and even our feline and canine citizens deserve first class care.
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City Water Issues – 2017
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Information on the Housing Market in Pulaski County
As a Real Estate Appraiser, I am keenly attuned to the upturns and downturns in the Real Estate Market. Especially as it affects Pulaski County. I thought I’d give a brief overview on the current and historical sales information for homes in our area. I found it interesting, I hope you do also:
The Median home values for homes in Pulaski County is $86,800. (National median home value is $185,800). The county is currently experiencing a 0.2% appreciation rate compared to the national average of 3.7%.
The Median age of homes for Pulaski county is 35 years (National average is 37 years).
53.3% of Pulaski Citizens own their own home compared to 56.3% nationally.
31% of our homes are rented with 15.7% of them vacant. The average rental cost is slightly over $600/month.
Our unemployment rate is 6.0% which is down from 9% in 2011. We have also gone from a -6% job growth rate to a +2.0% job grown rate in this same time period.
We sold about 49 homes last year in Pulaski County, with a median sales price of around $105,000. Homes tend to sale at about 95% of their listing price. Homes tend to sit on the market for about 45-80 days. 3 homes sold last month for an average price of $135,500 but they sat on the market for an average of 164 days.
*This data was compiled from Central Ga. MLS. Not all home sales go through this MLS. Many are owner sold directly without a Realtor. Not all Realtors report to Central Ga. MLS. Therefore, this information is incomplete, but it does serve as a trend analysis.
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The sun is shining bright on Hawkinsville!
Things are looking GOOD in Hawkinsville. A new day is dawning. For many years we at the city have been working to improve our tax base, our quality of life, and our economic outlook. We are now seeing the fruits of those efforts. I’d like to spend a little time with you highlighting some of the results….. Here is my TOP TEN items that I am excited about with our little town!
- H&V: Hollingsworth and Vose has announced a MAJOR expansion. They are investing MILLIONS dollars on a new building along with new equipment (AND LOTS OF NEW EMPLOYEES). The city worked on this project for about 2 years. Many late night discussions and even a trip to Boston. It ultimately came down to between us and a Northwestern US city. The city and state stepped up to the plate with a $1.5 MILLION dollar cash incentive ($1 Million city, Half a million state). The county and school board stepped up to the plate with a 10 year declining tax abatement on the new project. These incentives were enough to tip the scale in Hawkinsville’s favor. And we got it. $1 Million is ALOT for a small town like Hawkinsville. But supporting one of our largest private industries and largest employers was important. Also H&V is single handily our LARGEST natural gas buyer from the city. And the expansion will VASTLY increase the amount of gas that they purchase from us. We are paying for this incentive through the increased gas sales and utilizing the money that we WERE paying toward our spec building (The spec building was paid off this summer), and using the increased city property tax payments from H&V (the city did not offer a tax abatement on this project). This expansion is a HUGE WIN for our small community and proves that when we all work together, we can accomplish great things.
- Cherokee Brick: WE SOLD OUR SPEC BUILDING. Cherokee brick is a great company located in Macon, Georgia. They are a huge company. But at their current location in Macon, they really have no room to expand. Hawkinsville native Michael Peavy is the president of Cherokee Brick. We went to Macon. Cherokee leadership came here. Ultimately they decided to expand in Hawkinsville. Brickyard Solutions will be the name of their Hawkinsville facility. They purchased our Spec building on Highway 247 for a cash purchase. This puts the building on the tax rolls. This facility will eventually create some 40-70 jobs. This gives us some money to put toward additional economic development. Brickyard solutions will purchase utilities, including natural gas, from the city as well as pay property taxes. But the main benefit is JOBS! I have been saying since first getting on city council that our primary need is JOBS! They hope to begin production as early as January!
- TAYLOR VILLAGE: Our old Hospital is falling down. It’s dilapidated. It’s an eyesore. It’s sad to drive by and see a facility that so many of us Hawkinsville Natives were born in, cared for in, and many even died there. Its a local landmark. But it is falling down. Previous efforts, from both local groups and outside groups have failed. It seemed to be a lost cause. TBG Residential from Atlanta saw the potential. We worked with TBG on grant issues, zoning issues, parking issues – everything. We eventually came up with a plan utilizing both low income housing tax credits and historic tax credits. And just last week, DCA (Ga Department of Community Affairs) approved the plan and will issue the tax credits. The total project will be an 11.2 MILLION DOLLAR investment into Hawkinsville. There will be a total of 68 units in the Taylor Village development consisting of a mix of unit choices and styles for residents. The historic former hospital will be converted into 34 units which will be a mix of 24 one bedroom units and 10 two bedroom units. Across Warren street, they will build 4 additional buildings that will house 34 additional units of two and three bedroom units. Both portions of the development will be designed to be energy efficient and sustainable with the long-term operation and maintenance of the community in mind. The development will include a clubhouse with community space, a laundry center, and a computer area. There will be an outdoor playground with a covered pavilion. They hope to close all of the funding rounds by April of 2017, construction will last a little over a year. They hope to start leasing units by July of 2018. 11.2 MILLION investment. That’s what I’m talking about!
- DOWNTOWN: Our Hawkinsville DDA (Downtown Development Authority) has been very busy of late. The city (through the DDA) has funded 25 facade grants totaling a $55,000.00 investment into our downtown. These facade grants are restoring the look of our downtown. It’s looking better than it has looked in DECADES! Just ride through and take a look. MANY MORE are coming in 2017!
- CABERO PARK: Speaking of downtown, take a gander at our new and improved CABERO PARK. A total renovation thanks to our Master Gardner Program!
- AIRPORT: We are looking at ways to improve / expand our airport. If we want to be serious about economic development, we need a way for the potential investors to come into our community. Often they prefer to fly from city to city. It is not a great first impression if they must land in Perry and then drive here. So, we are in the process of acquiring the land needed to expand our runway to some 5,000 feet. This not only will accommodate most planes, but will also qualify us for FEDERAL aviation dollars to help maintain the airport.
- INDUSTRIAL PARK: Now that we have sold the spec building, we continue to look for ways to highlight our industrial park. We are not ready to invest in another spec building, but we are contemplating having two or three PAD READY spots available. These are locations within our park that are already graded and have utility infrastructure placed and ready. We hope to have a 10,000 sf pad, a 50,000 sf pad, and possibly a 100,000 sf pad ready for potential developments. We want to be PROACTIVE!
- BRIDGES: Although it is going to be a major aggravation for a couple of years, our bridges are finally being replaced! They were almost getting to the point of being DANGEROUS! I love our bridges and I love the fact that the river crossing is RIGHT AT OUR DOWNTOWN. Many towns are being BYPASSED, but due to the location of our bridges, Hawkinsville should never be bypassed.
- City Hall: Our current city hall is too small and really showing it’s age. We have put money in the previous SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) and our upcoming SPLOST to help us pay for a new City Hall. This will not only give us the room that we need but will also provide additional space for our Chamber and Economic Development Efforts. We hope to have new announcements coming soon in this area.
- UTILITY SOFTWARE: FOR YEARS, I have been wanting a system that will allow CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS (for a reasonable rate) and ACH Payments and Automatic Drafts. We want to make it easier for our customers to pay their utility bills. New software is going online this year that will accomplish these goals.
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Yeah, I really don’t like UGA….. But…..
As a graduate of Georgia Tech, it is instilled in me not to like UGA. From the liberal academics to the overrated football team, I just don’t like them. But even this Yellow Jacket will have to admit it when something good comes from that school. Hawkinsville / Pulaski County is one of only a few ARCHWAY PARTNERSHIP COMMUNITIES within the state of Georgia. The Archway Partnership is a program of the University System that aspires to help communities solve problems, reach goals, and do transformative work by allocating the resources of the University System and partnering to help the communities utilize their own resources as well. The program is a win-win for all involved. The Communities get resources that would otherwise not be feasible from either a logistical or a financial limitation. The University gets to provide students with real-life opportunities to better education and train them. The students get to do important work to show to future potential employers.
We have been involved in the Archway Partnership for over 5 years now and the benefits are real and noticeable. In the area of Leadership, Archway has led an adult leadership program that has now trained over 200 residents and got them involved in all aspects of our community. The adult leadership program has been such a success, that they are now self-sustaining with their own 501-C3 organization. In addition to training, each year’s group does a community project that does GOOD within our town. From providing protective armor to our Sheriff’s department, to providing defibrillators to community venues, to providing rural water pumping equipment to our fire department, to providing trash cans to our downtown and much more. The leadership initiative also includes a youth leadership component that is providing insight to community concerns as well as getting feedback from this demographic as we seek to improve our community.
In the area of Economic Development, Archway has helped with many RFP (Request for Proposals) that different companies or the state of Georgia sends out to highlight what our community has to offer to potential businesses or industries.
Also under the heading of Development, Archway has been instrumental in helping revitalize our downtown. From Beautification efforts (through developing a Master Gardner’s program) to helping develop a Downtown Merchant’s Association, Archway has led the efforts.
Archway is a vital partner (with our Family Connections Program) in bringing the TEEN MAZE to our schools every other year. TEEN MAZE provides a gaming environment where students are presented with real life situations that often complicate their expected path to graduation. Over 200 volunteers (from our community of slightly over 10,000 people) help make this event a rousing success.
Archway helped grow a local at-risk teenager program – Life League. Life League is now in multiple counties and strives to teach at-risk students real life situational events such as How to perform in an interview, How to tie a tie, why work-ethics and being on time are important. While using basketball to attract the young people, real education is being conducted.
Archway has brought the resources of the Pharmacy School of UGA to help our local Hospital research problem areas such as why people are not taking their medicines as prescribed. They have helped our hospital with IRS requirements to keep / prove their non-profit status.
Archway has helped with the city / county relationships by being an unbiased middle man. They provide a safe non partial environment to iron out differences in tax equity and service delivery areas. So much so, that now Hawkinsville and Pulaski county have served as models for other communities on city-county relations.
They have helped us rebrand ourselves and helped design a new website to promote the new brand.
Archway has helped with Design Charets, signage design and placement, and more from the college of Environmental design.
Archway has even helped area businesses such as Hardy Farms look at ways to promote Agri-Tourism. They are helping Lamar Pecans develop a Pecan Cracking machine.
I could go on and on.
The reason I am writing this post is that I am currently attending the annual Archway summit at UGA. The Summit allows us to interact with other Archway Communities so that we can see their best practices and understand what has worked for other communities. It also allows us to see “behind the curtain” to the staff and students behind the Archway Partnership. I sometimes just think that our own Michelle Elliott (our local Archway Professional) is the magical OZ that gets it all done. The summit allows me to see the people backing up Michelle to pull off these extraordinary efforts.
The picture below is the UGA Men’s choir entertaining us at the summit. Except for the UGA fight song, they were pretty good. So, while I still don’t like UGA, I’ll have to admit, the Archway Partnership is a great program. Even UGA gets it right occasionally.
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2016 & the City of Hawkinsville
I am looking forward to 2016 being a great year for the city of Hawkinsville. A Whole lot of items are on our agenda to accomplish this year. I’d like to take this opportunity to let you know some things to expect this year.
Accounting: We hope to drastically improve our accounting software. This improvement should result in the City Commissioners getting much better information to utilize in making financial decisions for the city. The improvements should also allow us to begin allowing ACH Drafts for payment of utility bills. As well as online payments and Credit Card payments.
Downtown: We hope to focus many of efforts this year on improving downtown. From revamping the Classic Main Street Program to energizing the Downtown Development Authority to concentrate on bringing business to our community. Efforts will include improving parking, clean up efforts, and offering incentives to locate in our community.
Fireworks: Last year the state legislature passed laws allowing fireworks to be used and sold in the state of Georgia. However, the law did not allow local governments to set up restrictions such as the locations of these sales, the locations of the use, and the times of the use. This year the state legislature is revisiting this issue and we are hoping that they will add code that will allow local governments to have more say in these issues.
City Hall: We hope to begin design and possibly even construction of a new city hall in Hawkinsville. Our current one is too small and is falling down around us. We have purchased the former Blount Warehouse on Broad Street and plan on building a new City Hall at that location.
SPLOST: We will begin planning the next SPLOST. SPLOST money goes toward capital projects that we could never find funding for by any other means. Road improvements, Water and Sewer improvements, Recreation Department Improvements, etc.
Audit Changes: We hope to be able to do more of our audit work in-house thus saving a small fortune that we spend with outside accounting firms. D.M. Vickers & Associates will be working with us to streamline and improve our accounting methods to accomplish this goal.
Economic Development: Working with our Chamber, United Pulaski, and the local Industrial Development Boards, we are striving hard to better the economic situation in our community. We want to attract new industry as well as work with existing industry and businesses to compel them to expand.
City / County Cooperation: We plan to continue to look for ways that our city and county can work together. Cooperation should either bring about increased savings or increased inefficiencies or an increased level of customer service.
Public/Private Developments: We are working with the new owners of the Old Taylor Regional Hospital. Helping them to apply for state funded Tax Credits in order to fund the renovation of this building.
Shelly Berryhill 