Tag Archives: County Manager

Packet: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

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Update 2026-07-14: Lowndes County budget and transparency –WTXL TV 2026-07-13.

On July 9, I sent an open records request to Lowndes County asking for “the documents called out by Finance Director Stephanie Black:

  1. The Valdosta-Lowndes County Convention Center and Tourism Authority (VLCCCTA) plan for use of the proceeds provided for tourism, conventions, and trade shows.
  2. The budget plan for Hotel-Motel Proceeds for Fiscal Year 2027.
  3. the proposed county budget plan for 2027 for adoption.”

Less than two hours later, the county provided four documents. Apparently there were two resolutions that matched my third request.

[Packet: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30]
Packet: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

Those documents are on the LAKE website. Images of each page are below.

I’m told they are also on the county’s website, but I cannot find them there under Finance, County Clerk, or County Manager.

It is a mystery to me why the county does not publish such documents on its own website, before it holds Budget Public Hearings.

And it’s a mystery why the county does not video its own Budget Public Hearings, which are held in the same room with the same audiovisual equipment they use to video the County Commission Regular Sessions.

See also the LAKE video of the Special Called Meeting to adopt the budget. That post includes the agenda and the relevant parts of the VDT story on the meeting. Continue reading →

Videos: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

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Update 2026-07-13: Packet: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30.

Turns out there was another agenda item for the Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget, 8:30 AM, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, Lowndes County Commission. They did post the agenda on the county’s website, on June 26, 2026, the Friday before the Tuesday meeting.

On that Tuesday, first they adopted a budget plan for Hotel-Motel Proceeds for Fiscal Year 2027. That required first getting a plan from the Valdosta-Lowndes County Convention Center and Tourism Authority (VLCCCTA) their plan for use of the proceeds provided for tourism, conventions, and trade shows.

Finance Director Stephanie Black said, “You have a copy of the Authority’s budget plan and a proposed county budget plan for 2027 for adoption.”

I can’t find either of those documents on the county’s website nor on the VLCCCTA website. Naturally, LAKE has filed an open records request for those documents. Meanwhile, fortunately Malia Thomas was there to report for the Valdosta Daily Times and apparently got a copy of those documents; see below

[Videos: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget & Hotel-Motel Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30]
Videos: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget & Hotel-Motel Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

They unanimously adopted the hotel-motel plan and then the county budget.

Why a special called meeting when they could have done these things in a Regular Session? If I’m not mistaken, the state requires counties to adopt a budget by the end of June. So they had an additional meeting on the last possible day to adopt these documents.

The entire meeting took 2 minutes and 14 seconds. Gretchen Quarterman drove an hour round trip to take this LAKE video for you.

The county could have videoed this meeting and put it on its YouTube channel the same way it handles its Regular Sessions. But it did not.

https://www.youtube.com/@lowndescountyboardofcommis7341

So here is the LAKE video of the June 30, 2026, Special Called Meeting to Approve 2027 Budget:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYr6CvpzLv2c&si=0LIfN6vq-MpzgZ8I Continue reading →

Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

Update 2026-07-09: Videos: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30.

There’s a Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget at 8:30 AM, Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in the Lowndes County Commission Chambers, second floor, 327 N. Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601.

The FY 2027 Budget Public Hearing Presentation is linked from the Finance Department page on lowndescounty.com, and there is a link under Lowndes County News saying it was posted June 24, 2026. Images of each page are below.

[Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30]
Notice: Special Called Meeting to Adopt the Proposed FY 2027 Budget @ LCC 2026-06-30

This notice is on the calendar on lowndescounty.com: Continue reading →

Videos: farewell Jason Davenport, approval limits, CALEA, personal care home @ LCC 2018-09-11

The county held a ceremony for departing Lowndes County Planner Jason Davenport. I asked the person sitting in his former seat, Engineering/Planning Technician Molly Stevenson, if she was confirmed yet. She would only say it was confirmed that she was sitting there right then.

They also had a 911 CALEA Re-Accreditation Presentation and the Chairman recognized Leadership Lowndes.

Citizens Bob Harlan and Fred E. Blanton Jr complained about road conditions. I thanked Utilities Director Steve Stalvey for sending information about recent Lowndes County sewage spills (two in July), and I thanked him advance for sending the NPDES-permit-required followup testing (not yet received).

On the REZ-2018-16 Stovall rezoning, the applicant revealed the reason for the previous restriction when Continue reading →

Videos: Naylor Boat Ramp, approval limits, CALEA, personal care home @ LCC 2018-09-10

News about the Naylor Boat Ramp in an Engineering Projects Report! Chad McLeod also reported about the 911 center, the North Lowndes Soccer Complex, the fire warehouse classroom, the animal shelter, and the courthouse renovation project, all still to be completed from SPLOST VII funds, which run out next year. Even with that three-and-a-half-minute special engineering report, the whole meeting took ten minutes Monday morning.

Also not on the agenda, HR has a new employee. Also there will be a new traffic signal.

Should the County Manager and the Finance Director be able to approve Continue reading →

CALEA, personal care home, and county manager approval limit @ LCC 2018-09-10

Should the County Manager and the Finance Director be able to approve 2.5 times as much in dollar value on budgeted items as they currently can?

Also a rezoning to reconfigure for two parcels and another to permit personal care homes, plus a 911 CALEA Re-Accreditation Presentation are on the agenda for 8:30 AM this morning at the Work Session and tomorrow evening’s voting Regular Session.

2015-03-09 rezoning for Stovall property

The rezoning REZ-2018-16 Stovall, 6002 N. Oak St. Ext. to permit personal care homes is “as a result of a potential buyer’s interest in developing the property into an assisted living facility”. This same Tuesday, the same property is on ZBOA’s agenda for a variance on the buffer condition.

The 2015-03-10 agenda for the earlier rezoning from R-21 to C-G, Well & Other did not say anything specifically about private care facilities, nor did the Continue reading →

Putnam County Manager wants solar to replace coal @ GA PSC 2013-06-18

Putnam County sent a delegation to the Georgia Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday 18 June 2013. You’ve already seen Rep. Rusty Kidd; next up was the Putnam County manager.

County Manager Paul Van Haute said $175,000 in SPLOST money from Putnam County

Paul Van Haute, Putnam County Manager Unfortunately we had budgeted $275,000, so we’re about $100,000 a year short based on our estimates. That is directly attributable to the loss of coal sales from Plant Branch. Also on top of that we’re losing about $950,000 to $980,000 of property tax. That is about one seventh of our property tax receipts. This is a very big impact to the community.

About then he was interrupted by Chairman Chuck Eaton, who asked: Continue reading →

Farewell Chairman Ashley Paulk @ LCC 2012-12-14

At the county’s farewell reception for retiring Chairman Ashley Paulk Friday, Attorney General Sam Olens gave him something to hang on the wall, Paulk said a few words, County Manager Joe Pritchard read a letter from incoming Chairman Bill Slaughter, and Pritchard said a few words and gave Paulk a rocking chair, in which he declined to sit.

At some later date maybe I’ll post a retrospective about my neighbor Ashley Paulk, but for now I think the many posts in this blog will serve, and meanwhile I look forward to seeing what the new Commission will do with new Commissioners Demarcus Marshall (District 4), John Page (District 5), and new Chairman Bill Slaughter.

Here’s a video playlist:

Farewell Chairman Ashley Paulk, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 14 December 2012.

-jsq

I think that addresses the issues —Joe Pritchard

In David Rodock’s VDT story on the animal shelter tour Joe Pritchard made the case for cameras:
“It’s no longer a case of an individual making a claim, as it will be evident by the physical evidence provided by the security cameras,” said Pritchard. “The standard operating procedures such as frequency of inspection of the animals and how often an animal will be reviewed or examined, along with the veterinarian care, have been revised to the general procedures set by guidelines of the Department of Agriculture and the animal control ordinance we adopted several years ago.”

“You take that policy, coupled with the updated standard operating procedures, added to the technical verification and I think that addresses the issues,” said Pritchard. “My purpose is to eliminate any problem or potential problem.”

Sounds to me like he’s saying the issues are resolved. Remember, “resolved” is the word Chairman Paulk used a few hours before.

If anyone is interested in watching the watchers, the animal control ordinance is online.

-jsq

VDT incorporates video into animal shelter tour report

Guess they thought a good time to start in-line YouTube video was when they could show kitties and puppies. Hey, if that gets the VDT doing video, I’m for it!

David Rodock wrote 26 May 2011, Tour of the Lowndes County Animal Shelter

As promised at Tuesday’s Lowndes County Board of Commissioners meeting, the Lowndes County Animal Shelter (LCAS) allowed the public the opportunity Wednesday afternoon to get a behind-the-scenes look at the facility that has recently come under fire.

Employees, both past and present, have accused several shelter employees of inhumane treatment of animals, the mishandling of tranquilizers and illegal operating procedures.

At least two of the speakers at the commission earlier in the day took the tour: Jessica Bryan Hughes and Judy Havercamp.

One of the visitors summed it up: Continue reading →