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Clayton County, Georgia

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Budget Y
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Meetings Y
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Elected Officials Y
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Administrative Officials Y
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Permits, zoning Y
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Audits Y
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Contracts Y
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Lobbying Y
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Public records Y
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Local taxes Y
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County websites
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Transparency grading process

Clayton County is one of 159 counties in Georgia. Its county seat is Jonesboro. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 273,718.[1] Clayton County is within the five-county core of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, and is the county in which most of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport lies.

[edit] Evaluation of website

This website was most recently evaluated May 7, 2012.

Main article: Evaluation of Georgia county websites

[edit] The good

  • Current budget and audits are posted.[2].
  • Commission meeting minutes are posted[3].
  • The County Commissioners and their contact information is available[4].
  • The Administrators and their contact information is listed. [5]
  • Building permits and zoning information are provided[6].
  • Contract bids and proposals are published online.[7][8]
  • The county does disclose it belongs to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations[9].
  • The website outlines who to contact for a public records request.[10]
  • Local tax information is available,[11][12] including millage rates.[13]
  • In addition to Sunshine Review's transparency checklist, the county has also taken the initiative to post salary information.[14]

[edit] Budget

The total operating budget in Clayton County for FY2010 was $447.7 million; in FY2011, the total operating budget was $265.6 million, a change of 40.7%.


[edit] Stimulus

http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecipientReportedData/Pages/RecipientAwardsList.aspx?duns=069227536

[edit] Elected Officials

[edit] County Commissioners

A of the commission's powers and duties is posted.[15]

Pursuant to Ordinance 2009-50, adopted by the Clayton County Board of Commissioners on April 7, 2009, the Board of Commissioners shall hold regular meetings on the first, second, and third Tuesday of each month, at 7:00 p.m. in its Boardroom located at 112 Smith Street, Jonesboro, Georgia, unless postponed to a subsequent date by action taken at a regular meeting. Meetings shall be open to the public. The Board of Commissioners may also hold such additional meetings as shall be necessary. Whenever any regular meeting of the board shall fall on a holiday, the meeting shall be held on the following day. All zoning meetings shall be conducted at night beginning at 7:00 p.m.[4]

Commissioners serve staggered terms of four years and are elected by district.[16]. Current commissioners are:[4]

Member Title District Term Ends
Eldrin Bell Chairman County-Wide 12-31-12
Sonna Singleton Commissioner District 1 12-31-14
Gail Hambrick Commissioner District 2 12-31-12
Wole Ralph Commissioner District 3 12-31-12
Michael Edmondson Commissioner District 4 12-31-14

[edit] Administrative Officials

Title Name
Tax Commissioner Terry L. Baskin
Chief Tax Appraiser Rodney McDaniel
Director, Board of Elections and Registration Annie C. Bright
Interim Director, Building and Maintenance Les Markland
Director, Central Services Theodis Locke
Director, Community Development Patrick Ejike
Warden, Corrections Department Frank Taylor Smith
Director, Economic Development Grant Wainscott
Director, Internal Audit Stacey Merritt
Director, Parks & Recreation Detrick Stanford
Director, Transportation and Development Jeff Metarko

[edit] Salaries

Main article: Georgia public employee salaries

The county is also disclosing salaries by employee classification.[14] The four highest paid positions start off above $90,000 and were the Fire Captain, Director of Transportation, Director of Parks and Recreation and Development and the Director of Human Resources. Though, these are appointed positions.

[edit] Pensions

Main article: Georgia public pensions

Details about pension plans unavailable.

[edit] Emergency personnel

Department Title Name
Fire Department/EMA Fire Chief Jeff Hood
Police Department Chief of Police Gregory Porter
Sheriff's Office Sheriff Kemuel A. Kimbrough

[edit] Lobbying

Main article: Georgia taxpayer-funded lobbying

Clayton County participates in the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG). The ACCG engages in lobbying the Georgia state legislature.[17]. The ACCG is a member of the National Association of Counties, a national taxpayer-funded lobbying organization.


[edit] Transparency & public records

In 2011 Clayton County earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.

[edit] Taxes

Millage rates are posted.[13] For 2011, the county's overall tax rate was 36.063 mills, of which .250 was in state taxes.[18]

The tax commissioner shares the following concerning exemptions for millage (property) taxes in Clayton County:[19]

"Certain homeowners are eligible for various types of homestead exemptions. Homeowner must have owned, occupied and claimed Georgia as their legal state of residence on January 1st of the calendar year in order to apply. Active duty personnel will need the first Leave and Earning Statement (LES) of the year to verify their legal state of residence. Once qualified, exemption will remain as long as homeowner occupies that same house or there are no name changes."

[edit] External links

[edit] References

http://sunshinestandard.org
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  1. ↑ Annual Estimates of the Population for Counties of Georgia
  2. ↑ Finance
  3. ↑ Meetings
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 commissioner profiles
  5. ↑ Departments
  6. ↑ Building/Zoning
  7. ↑ Bids and Proposals
  8. ↑ Central Services
  9. ↑ Lobbying
  10. ↑ Public Records
  11. ↑ Tax Commissioner
  12. ↑ Tax Assessor
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Clayton County "Millage Rates," Accessed December 21, 2011
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Salaries
  15. ↑ powers and duties
  16. ↑ commission
  17. ↑ ACCG Legislative Advocacy Information
  18. ↑ Clayton County "2011 Millage Rates," Accessed December 21, 2011
  19. ↑ Property Tax Exemptions
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