Polls open on Tuesday, July 20, for the primary election for the Banks County Board of Commissioners Post 1 and Post 3, Board of Education Post 5, Baldwin city council and State Senate District 50, as well as other races. In the last political forum before voting, the Banks County Chamber of Commerce hosted a question and answer session on Thursday at the county annex building. Attending the forum were candidates for BOC and BOE posts. Each candidate was asked questions by Tara Fulcher, Chamber of Commerce director, then the floor was opened to questions from the public.
The BOC candidates all said they want to pull in business to the county and are for more open meetings with more community involvement.
Danny Maxwell, Sammy Reece, Keith Segars and Sam Moon, candidates for the Banks County Board of Commissioners, are shown.
Chamber political forum held
POST 1, BOC
Running for Post 1 on the BOC, candidates Danny Maxwell and Sam Moon and incumbent Rickey Cain, who didn’t attend.
Moon said his campaign goal is that the county needs a long-term plan and a goal beyond the comprehensive plan. Maxwell said the county should be reactive to needs and what can be afforded by the citizens.
POST 3, BOC
Running for Post 3 on the BOC, candidates Sammy Reese and Keith Segars. Reese touted his experience in different agencies and boards around the county and emphasized he wants to see the residents come together and have the commissioners work for the residents as well as expressing views towards the Martin Bridge Road area for development. Segars spoke on his educational record also said that the Martin Bridge Road is ready for development and expressed interest in approaching a monthly visit to the state capital to get Banks County well known in the hunt for business.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS
Some of the questions asked and the responses from the candidates include the following:
What is the three most important issues facing Banks County?
Moon: "I think growth is one. Getting a bang for your buck, as to say prudent spending to show people you are trying to hold the line. The other thing is, and I'm going to harp on this if I'm in this chair or not. A plan for like if we want roads done, you can find it listed where and if your dirt road will ever be paved or not and if we wanted to do a reservoir, if we can find the grant again, how long it is going to take to put it into working."
Maxwell: "I think the major issue right now for our county is the revenues that are not coming in. We need to set a plan to do something to get the revenue coming in and take the tax burden off of our citizens. Once revenue comes in, I think we need a plan to take care of the growth. We are going to have growth whether we want it or not, but what we need to do is be prepared to have everything in place so the growth suits our county. And it's not just growth. Another issue is our recreation facilities. More activities for our children and also our senior citizens to bring in revenues over there. It's just something we have to set right and set an itinerary so we can get all these things and in the right sequence."
Reese: "Mainly our economic crisis at this time. We have to use this like we use it ourselves. There is not a person in this room that hasn't had to cutback in the past few years. The county has shown that it is trying to cutback. It's a situation where we want the people to feel comfortable that we are doing our job. Secondly, our water issues in years to come. Right now, we are in good shape. The third biggest issue is the management. I think we really need to work on the management positions of this county. The people I've talked to are very upset with the management of this county."
Segars: "First off is revenue. It's a horrible economic time and we need to find ways to bring in revenue. There is only so far we can cut, and still maintain and run a county. Second one is water. On the upper end of the county, those people are upset that they are footing the bill for a water system that they are not getting any water or very little and very little service. I think that the water infrastructure is our second item. I would also have to agree that our management, and I mean the Board of Commissioners. I think the board should act as a board and not individually. We have the structure in place, but unfortunately I think the structure has been deviated from and we need to get that structure back in place."
What are your top three budget priorities?
Both Maxwell and Moon chose roads and water as two of the issues. On the third issue Maxwell said the recreation department, stating that while it would not be self supporting, it should draw in revenue to help cut costs on operation. Moon stated that the landfill was a concern and what was the plan for when it eventual closes in the future. Reese stated that the three priorities are getting work into the county, the second is water and the third is the park and recreation department. Reese added that if the work came into the county the rest would follow. Segars looked toward shoring up the infrastructure of the county, keeping good staff employed for the county with livable wages and utilizing the recreation department.
Where do you stand on landfill expansion?
Maxwell: "At this point, I think there are stipulations in place on regards to landfill expansion. I don't know all the information about that, but I will certainly be in contact with the information about that and try to find out what the situation is. I don't know what we can do about it based on how the contract was setup, but it is something I'm interested in and will look into. I'm not for taking more land to expand and that is going to hurt the surrounding people."
Moon: "I'll answer this question, if it comes down to me voting at this table, I will not vote for any expansion. As far as the other questions, if it is legal and everything else, that is for the courts to decide. But if it comes to me to vote and I'm sitting here in this chair, I will vote against any expansion on the landfill. In my opinion, the people of the county have already spoken on this issue."
Reese: "I don't like the landfill over there no more than anyone else does. What they do in this county will be handled by the judges in the superior court before it's done. I don't see how it could go any other way."
Segars: "Without knowing the details of what their future plans are and any other agreements they have done with the county. it is hard to make a comment on this. The landfill is in use and from my understanding is being regulated. Water samples are being taken on a regular basis and being reported. From my understanding it is meeting all criteria and as far as future expansion that is something we all need to come together on and is not a decision for one person. Maybe we should hold meetings and find out where and what people want to do. Right now, we can take our garbage over there and dump it for free, that is a benefit we all enjoy. When is closes, and eventually it will, there will be a cost associated with taking our garbage somewhere else."
BOE, POST 5
Candidates Jason Hensley and Shane Roberts are both running for Post 5 on the BOE.
Vision for the school system?
Hensley: "My vision is to make sure the kids are knowledgeable enough to know what they want to do with the rest of their life or what they want to do after high school. It can be technical school, college, going to work or whatever it is, I want to make sure that the kids have the best knowledge so they can make a decision about what they want to do."
Roberts: "I want Banks County to be a leader in education in Georgia. We need to set goals and standards and try to get out of our circumstances and reach those goals. We need to continue to improve graduation rates." What do you feel about diversifying languages offered in the school system? Roberts: "The state requires to teach a foreign language and I'm not opposed to looking into alternatives for that, but it comes down to a budget issue. When you start offering other classes that is more cost and it will come down to what we can afford." Hensley: "I live in America, and the thing is if you are going to live here you need to learn English first. That is just the way I see it. I want the students to learn English first and I've been out of school for a long time and I know that other stuff matters, but I believe if we learn English first everything else takes care of itself."
Running for Post 1 on the BOC, candidates Danny Maxwell and Sam Moon and incumbent Rickey Cain, who didn’t attend.
Moon said his campaign goal is that the county needs a long-term plan and a goal beyond the comprehensive plan. Maxwell said the county should be reactive to needs and what can be afforded by the citizens.
POST 3, BOC
Running for Post 3 on the BOC, candidates Sammy Reese and Keith Segars. Reese touted his experience in different agencies and boards around the county and emphasized he wants to see the residents come together and have the commissioners work for the residents as well as expressing views towards the Martin Bridge Road area for development. Segars spoke on his educational record also said that the Martin Bridge Road is ready for development and expressed interest in approaching a monthly visit to the state capital to get Banks County well known in the hunt for business.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS
Some of the questions asked and the responses from the candidates include the following:
What is the three most important issues facing Banks County?
Moon: "I think growth is one. Getting a bang for your buck, as to say prudent spending to show people you are trying to hold the line. The other thing is, and I'm going to harp on this if I'm in this chair or not. A plan for like if we want roads done, you can find it listed where and if your dirt road will ever be paved or not and if we wanted to do a reservoir, if we can find the grant again, how long it is going to take to put it into working."
Maxwell: "I think the major issue right now for our county is the revenues that are not coming in. We need to set a plan to do something to get the revenue coming in and take the tax burden off of our citizens. Once revenue comes in, I think we need a plan to take care of the growth. We are going to have growth whether we want it or not, but what we need to do is be prepared to have everything in place so the growth suits our county. And it's not just growth. Another issue is our recreation facilities. More activities for our children and also our senior citizens to bring in revenues over there. It's just something we have to set right and set an itinerary so we can get all these things and in the right sequence."
Reese: "Mainly our economic crisis at this time. We have to use this like we use it ourselves. There is not a person in this room that hasn't had to cutback in the past few years. The county has shown that it is trying to cutback. It's a situation where we want the people to feel comfortable that we are doing our job. Secondly, our water issues in years to come. Right now, we are in good shape. The third biggest issue is the management. I think we really need to work on the management positions of this county. The people I've talked to are very upset with the management of this county."
Segars: "First off is revenue. It's a horrible economic time and we need to find ways to bring in revenue. There is only so far we can cut, and still maintain and run a county. Second one is water. On the upper end of the county, those people are upset that they are footing the bill for a water system that they are not getting any water or very little and very little service. I think that the water infrastructure is our second item. I would also have to agree that our management, and I mean the Board of Commissioners. I think the board should act as a board and not individually. We have the structure in place, but unfortunately I think the structure has been deviated from and we need to get that structure back in place."
What are your top three budget priorities?
Both Maxwell and Moon chose roads and water as two of the issues. On the third issue Maxwell said the recreation department, stating that while it would not be self supporting, it should draw in revenue to help cut costs on operation. Moon stated that the landfill was a concern and what was the plan for when it eventual closes in the future. Reese stated that the three priorities are getting work into the county, the second is water and the third is the park and recreation department. Reese added that if the work came into the county the rest would follow. Segars looked toward shoring up the infrastructure of the county, keeping good staff employed for the county with livable wages and utilizing the recreation department.
Where do you stand on landfill expansion?
Maxwell: "At this point, I think there are stipulations in place on regards to landfill expansion. I don't know all the information about that, but I will certainly be in contact with the information about that and try to find out what the situation is. I don't know what we can do about it based on how the contract was setup, but it is something I'm interested in and will look into. I'm not for taking more land to expand and that is going to hurt the surrounding people."
Moon: "I'll answer this question, if it comes down to me voting at this table, I will not vote for any expansion. As far as the other questions, if it is legal and everything else, that is for the courts to decide. But if it comes to me to vote and I'm sitting here in this chair, I will vote against any expansion on the landfill. In my opinion, the people of the county have already spoken on this issue."
Reese: "I don't like the landfill over there no more than anyone else does. What they do in this county will be handled by the judges in the superior court before it's done. I don't see how it could go any other way."
Segars: "Without knowing the details of what their future plans are and any other agreements they have done with the county. it is hard to make a comment on this. The landfill is in use and from my understanding is being regulated. Water samples are being taken on a regular basis and being reported. From my understanding it is meeting all criteria and as far as future expansion that is something we all need to come together on and is not a decision for one person. Maybe we should hold meetings and find out where and what people want to do. Right now, we can take our garbage over there and dump it for free, that is a benefit we all enjoy. When is closes, and eventually it will, there will be a cost associated with taking our garbage somewhere else."
BOE, POST 5
Candidates Jason Hensley and Shane Roberts are both running for Post 5 on the BOE.
Vision for the school system?
Hensley: "My vision is to make sure the kids are knowledgeable enough to know what they want to do with the rest of their life or what they want to do after high school. It can be technical school, college, going to work or whatever it is, I want to make sure that the kids have the best knowledge so they can make a decision about what they want to do."
Roberts: "I want Banks County to be a leader in education in Georgia. We need to set goals and standards and try to get out of our circumstances and reach those goals. We need to continue to improve graduation rates." What do you feel about diversifying languages offered in the school system? Roberts: "The state requires to teach a foreign language and I'm not opposed to looking into alternatives for that, but it comes down to a budget issue. When you start offering other classes that is more cost and it will come down to what we can afford." Hensley: "I live in America, and the thing is if you are going to live here you need to learn English first. That is just the way I see it. I want the students to learn English first and I've been out of school for a long time and I know that other stuff matters, but I believe if we learn English first everything else takes care of itself."
No, you may not agree with it, but that is what makes this country great, everyone gets to voice his or her opinion. Now if some of the blowhards running for other positions would follow Mr. Hensley's lead and stand for something we would all be in better shape.
Hensley has my vote.
I wish someone like Mr. Hensley was in control on the BOE when I was in school.
Mr. Cain has been a great commissioner for B.C. for many years now & I hope he is elected once again.