The Concerned Citizens of Wilkes County (CCOWC) asked the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners if pictures of houses and also aerial photographs could be included in the Board of Tax Assessors’ online information website at www.qpublic. net/ga/wilkes/. The question came at the regular meeting of the commissioners and the short answer was that it is just a matter of time.

“It would help the [tax assessor’s] office itself save money,” said Mary McPherson, speaking for the CCOWC, “because people would not be coming in to compare real estate and they would not be coming in as often to interrupt the people.”

Bill Steed, chairman of the Board of Tax Assessors, explained that “except for a handful of properties,” pictures are already available that could be used for that purpose but that it would cost more for qPublic to include them on the website. He was not sure of the amount but pointed out that topographical information could be included as well.

McPherson said according to her information, the cost of the additional service would be $1,500 per year.

“When we did the aerials, the plan then was to go ahead and make it available on qPublic,” County Administrator David Tyler said. “That was our intention all along. It will be there, it’s just a matter of time,” he added.

“We haven’t asked for it yet,” Steed said, “because we have other things that are more pressing right now.” He was speaking of the stilldelayed completion of the current Wilkes County tax digest.

“We know the time-frame is not yet, but we would like to get it on when you finish,” McPherson responded. Steed further explained that the qPublic website would not be updated until this year’s digest is set, and that the addition of photos, aerials, and topographical information could be added after the additional cost is budgeted.

Commission Chairman Sam Moore reminded those in attendance that the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) is up for renewal in a referendum to be held in conjunction with this year’s General Election in November. He explained that a number of events have to take place at certain times in order for the referendum to meet all legal requirements.

The first of those events is a meeting between the County Commissioners and the mayors of the county’s municipalities (Washington, Tignall, and Rayle) that must take place prior to July 2, 2010. Various other meetings for negotiation over the allocation of sales tax and the projects to be financed will result in the execution of an intergovernmental contract. When final legal steps are complete, the referendum will be advertised in this newspaper and voting will take place on November 2.

Part of the current LOST is now being used to fund renovations on the Wilkes County courthouse. Moore reported that work has begun on the replacement of windows and doors in the structure and that new roofing material which “matches the original almost exactly” has been chosen. He said he expects the renovation project to “move pretty fast.”

Reporting on revenues from the state for the month of December, Tyler reported that the county received $68,222.98 in Local Option Sales Tax and $104,958.30 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. “Those numbers are continuing to stay up pretty good,” Moore said, and he indicated that the GNCC event at Aonia Pass the previous weekend had helped bring a lot of sales tax revenue to the county. “Perry Gunter is to be commended for the job he has done bringing those people to Wilkes County,” he said.

All of the commissioners including Divenski Lee, Ed Geddings, John Howard, Jerry Stover, and Moore, were in attendance at the regular meeting of the board held last Thursday, March 11, at 7 p.m. in the courthouse. Also attending were County Attorney Charles LeGette, Tourism Director Ashley Barnett, Tyler, and a number of visitors.

In other matters:

l Moore reported that he and a small group had been to Atlanta to meet with Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers to discuss his proposed property tax reform bill (SB 346) in order to “give him a perspective from a small county because we felt that most of what we were reading was more representative of large counties.” He read a list of 16 of the bill’s major points and indicated what some of them might mean to Wilkes County. Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) staff member Clint Mueller also attended the meeting.

l Commissioners updated the county’s flood ordinance to comply with new Federal Emergency Management Agency maps in order to continue to participate in the flood insurance program.

l Barnett reported on the status of the U.S. Census drive in the county and reminded everyone that some 2,000 post office box holders need to obtain forms to be filled out. Details are reported elsewhere in this newspaper. “The census people say that filling out your census forms is more important even than voting,” she said, because of the federal funding that can result from an accurate count.

l Barnett also reported on a long list of tourism opportunities and events, and Chamber of Commerce functions scheduled for the coming weeks.

She said she had helped entertain a group of travel writers who were “extremely impressed with Washington and Wilkes County – they loved being here.” Moore pointed out that the writers were in the county as a result of efforts made by the Clark’s Hill Partnership, a five-county organization encompassing Wilkes, Lincoln, McDuffie, Warren, and Columbia Counties.

l Moore reminded everyone that the week of March 14-20 is Agriculture Awareness Week in Georgia.