Henry County Update - Newsletter

June 5, 2015

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

The Henry County Fire Department Boot Campaign Raises $41,713 for Burn Foundation

Regular Meetings June 16th at 6:30 PM July 7th at 9:00 AM Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings will air Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays on Henry TV Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

The Henry County Fire Department collected $41,713.75 for the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation during its three-consecutive Friday “Give Burns The Boot” drive held April 10, 17 and 24, 2015.

The Henry County Fire Department is one of nearly 100 fire departments throughout the State of Georgia that participated in the 26th annual “Give Burns The Boot”® fund-raiser, benefiting the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation.

“We would like to thank all of our citizens for their generous support,”

said Division Chief Joe Kelley, Boot Drive coordinator for the Henry County Fire Department. “In its first 25 years, this event raised more than $13 million statewide for the GFBF.”

Funds collected through the boot drive will be used to help support the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation’s mission of partnering with the fire service and burn care community to provide fire safety and prevention education, support medical facilities and assist burn survivors in their recovery.

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June 5, 2015 Henry County Law Enforcement Form Alliance for Body Worn Camera Initiative

Henry County Law Enforcement is pleased to announce the formation of the Henry County Body Worn Camera Alliance (HCBWCA) which includes representatives from the Henry County Police Department, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, the City of McDonough Police Department and the City of Hampton Police Department.

The HCBWCA intends to use body cameras as an integrated part of its jurisdiction’s overall problemsolving and community-engagement strategy, helping to retain the solid trust and communication between public safety officers and the community they serve.

By proactively deploying body-worn cameras, local law enforcement is making the joint statement that they believe the actions of our public safety officers are a matter of public record, and they want to be transparent and accountable in citizen encounters. Additionally, they must observe a careful balance of competing legitimate interests, such as the public’s interest in seeing all camera footage, versus the interests of crime victims whose privacy rights must be protected as vigilantly as possible.

The HCBWCA will have guidance and support

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in this initiative from local prosecutors’ offices and community civil and victims’ rights partners (through initial Letters of Support, and later with a Memorandum of Understanding) as they apply for federal grant funding under the Department Of Justice’s BodyWorn Camera Pilot Implementation Program FY 2015 Competitive Grant.

Sheriff Keith McBrayer, and Chiefs Keith Nichols (Henry County), Preston Dorsey (McDonough) and Derrick Austin (Hampton) of the HCBWCA decided to come together to promote a unified law enforcement initiative for the planning and implementation of a body worn camera program. The HCPD Research & Development Unit has been working tirelessly with regional, state and national policy versions to develop a Body Worn Camera policy that complies with the Georgia Open Records law, as well as addresses concerns for citizen and officer safety.

If awarded grant funding, the HCBWCA will outfit 395 patrol and field officers in Henry County with body worn cameras. Should you need additional information regarding this grant, please contact Kimberly Monast at 770-288-8133 or kmonast@co.henry.ga.us .

Commissioners Adopt $134 Million Budget

The Henry County Board of Commissioners adopted a $134,672,557 budget for fiscal year 20152016 at a called meeting and public hearing held on May 27, 2015.The final budget adoption came on the heels of a previous budget hearing, held earlier in the month, culminating from a budget process with staff that began at the start of the new year.

Interim County Manager Cheri HobsonMatthews, along with Budget Director Angie Sorrow, presented the proposed budget, detailing the highlights and expenditures.

The FY 2015-2016 budget calls for $1.7 million in funding for new employees, including the hiring of fire professionals to staff a new fire station opening this year, which was approved under the SPLOST IV initiative by voters in November of 2013. The budget also calls for $700,000 to build and operate an employee health clinic, which is expected to save both employees and taxpayers’ money over the long term, and the new budget allocates an additional $330,000 to assist the funding needs of the Henry County Library System.

Also included in this year’s budget is $1,710,532 to cover the increase to employee health insurance premiums, and Commissioners elected to include $2.2 million to provide a three percent across-the-board salary increase for County employees, which will take effect at the start of the new fiscal year beginning on July 1st.

For more information or to view the budget in its entirety, please log onto www.henrycounty-ga.org.

Henry County Commission and called meetings are available on demand through the County website at www.henrycounty-ga.org under the Quick Access links to the left.

The Henry County Police Department is now using YouTube! The purpose is to work in partnership with our citizens in solving and reducing crime.

www.youtube.com/user/HenryCountyPoliceDpt

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June 5, 2015 Henry County Farmers Market Receives Grant From AgSouth Farm Credit

The Henry County Farmers Market, sponsored by the UGA Extension Office, located at 97 Lake Dow Rd. in McDonough Ga., announced that they are one of 26 farmers markets across the states of Georgia and South Carolina to receive a grant from AgSouth Farm Credit. The “Think Outside the Store” farmers’ market grant recipients will each receive $1,000 in funds to promote their markets, along with 300 reusable “Think Outside the Store” bags to give to their vendors.

To be eligible to receive a grant, applicants had to submit an application that described how the market would use the money to promote their markets.

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Extension Agent Frank Hancock said that the market will use the funds from the grant to advertise the market. “This grant will go a long way to help us curb our advertising and promotion expenses for the market,” said Hancock.

AgSouth Farm Credit CFO Lisa Gunter said, “The Think Outside the Store grant program was designed to bring attention to the small farm market.

Many farms get their start selling produce and other farm items at their local farmers markets. Knowing where your food and fiber comes from is important, and AgSouth is proud to support these local markets.”

Commissioner Bruce Holmes To Host Town Hall Meeting Focus will be on County Departments and Public Outreach

District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes will hold his monthly Town Hall Meeting on Saturday, June 27, 2015 at 9 a.m. at the new Denny’s Restaurant in Stockbridge. This month’s meeting will feature a discussion on county departments and their outreach into the community. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn the latest developments within the County and ask questions of various department heads.

Special guest speakers include Interim County

Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews, George Patterson, Director of Henry County’s Building and Plan Review Department, Vince Farah, Rabies Officer with Henry County Animal Care and Control and Henry County Code Enforcement Director Arthur Weems.

The Town Hall Meeting is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend. Denny’s Restaurant is located at 5368 N. Henry Blvd., in Stockbridge, GA.

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June 5, 2015 HCPD to Receive Diversity Training

The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution at the June 2, 2015 regular Commission meeting, authorizing the Henry County Police Department and the Henry County Human Resources Department to share the cost of a diversity training seminar in the amount of $35,000, with each department contributing $17,500.

The diversity training, provided by BASIC Diversity, Inc. out of Fayetteville, allows for two, 2-day training sessions for HCPD supervisors. The first session was conducted at the Henry County Police Training facility in late May and the second session will take place at the end of this month.

The Henry County Police Department has funds

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available in its Uniform Patrol Division Education and Training account to cover its share of the cost, and the HR Department has funds available in its Education and Training account as well.

“As our County becomes more diverse, we have to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our citizens,” said District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes.

“And also that we make every effort to reduce any type of adverse events in the future, so thank you so much for all your work on this.”

Basic Diversity, Inc. has been providing diversity and inclusion training services nationally for more than 40 years, with clients such as Walmart, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, CNN, the U.S. Army and others.

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June 5, 2015 McIntosh Trail CSB Cuts Ribbon on New Facility

The McIntosh Trail Community Service Board helped to celebrate a ribbon cutting ceremony on its brand new crisis facility located in neighboring Griffin, earlier this week.

Pine Woods Behavioral Health Stabilization Crisis Center is a 20-bed, short term facility that serves seven counties, including Lamar, Upson, Pike, Spalding, Butts, Fayette and Henry counties, with needed stabilization services for patients in crises.

Susan Craig, Chairman of the Community Service Board, said it’s a place where patients can be stabilized and be made aware of the resources

available to them, in regards to their mental and behavioral health.

“This facility will allow individuals who are in crisis to be transported to a closer facility for immediate attention,” said Craig.

Craig has been a board member for 22 years and is joined by Carolyn Brown, of Stockbridge, who is also a Board appointee for Henry County.

The new facility is located at 1209 Greenbelt Parkway and is state-funded through the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Commissioners Recognize Finance Department For Excellence in Financial Reporting

Pictured are members of the Henry County Commissioner with Finance Department employees. First row (l. to r.) District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes, District I Commissioner Bo Moss, Sloane Jinks, Danielle Gunn, Gina Vance , Christie O’Neal, Dustin Farron, Lori Lynn Robinson and Fred Auletta; second row: District IV Commissioner Blake Prince and Mallory Wimpey; third row: District II Commissioner Brian Preston, District III Commissioner Gary Barham and Rikki Martin.

The Henry County Finance Department was recognized at the June 2, 2015 Commission meeting for recently earning a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government henrycounty-ga.org

Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the fiscal year 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

Visitors at the Henry County Administration Building

Vania Butler receives a special recognition from Commissioner Bruce Holmes.

District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes had some special guests take a tour of the County Administration Offices earlier this week. Local middle school student, Vania Butler, along with friends and family, took a tour of the Henry TV studio and control room, the Community Room where important county

decisions are made, and had an opportunity to meet Interim County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews.

Vania was also presented with a proclamation from Commissioner Holmes for her successful participation in the Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation Project Blossom Mentoring program.

Vania and her family enjoyed a tour of the Community Room of the Henry County Administration building.

Production Specialist Ed Gore, explains how Henry TV programming works.

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