JASPER, Ga– The Pickens County Board of Commissioners (BOC) had their monthly work session on Thursday, August 4th at 4:30 pm.

From left to right: Commissioner Josh Tippens, Chairman Kris Stancil, Commissioner Josh Tatum

The members of the BOC are: Kris Stancil (Commission Chairman), Josh Tippens (Commission Post 1- West), and Josh Tatum (Commission Post 2- East).

Work sessions are shorter than regular meetings, but they allow participants to focus on specific goals with no interruption. The public is welcome to watch without commentary.

The Work Session agenda kicked off with department head updates. Next, the commissioners discussed the Local Options Sales Tax (LOST). Finally, the work session ended  with closing remarks appreciating the sheriff’s department’s presence in the school zones.

Department Head Updates

Firstly, extensive road maintenance has been ongoing throughout the county, but supply chain issues have caused some delays. Contractors have projected to start working on Cove Road between the 16th and the 20th. Grandview’s maintenance will begin after that. But, contractors do not have a start date yet.

Repairs on the water line on Anderson mountain going across South Cove. Additionally, the water line will be an ongoing issue until the pipe can be entirely replaced.

Pickens County is expecting a check for $120,000 for reimbursement for the county’s response to Hurricane Zeta.

Pickens County will host six Mountain Football League football games at Dragon Stadium along with the Girls Flag Football Superbowl on October 29th.

LOST Renegotiation Recap

LOST (Local Options Sales Tax) renegotiation happens every 10 years. On June 10, Pickens County sent a letter to all municipalities to kick off the renegotiations. LOST was voted in 1985 as a “source of replacement revenue from sales tax to offset property taxes.”

The first meeting was on June 22nd to establish the schedule and dispute resolution for the renegotiation process. The Current distribution is 70% for Pickens, 25.7% for Jasper, 2.8% for Nelson, and 1.5% for Talking Rock.

Chairman Stancil expects that the renegotiations will go into mediation. The deadline for an agreement is December 30th.