District 3 BOC hopefuls have tight timeline to qualify

A collision course for Putnam County’s Lake Oconee area voters in District 3 appears in the making for the third week in September.

District 3 Putnam BOC election deadlines yet to be set

In an Aug. 25 called meeting, the Putnam County Board of Commissioners approved a $25.7 million general fund budget for the upcoming 2023-24 fiscal year, all but officially locking in previously proposed millage-rate increases, both county-wide and in the special service district (unincorporated...

Tax rate increase by Puntam County commissioners seems inevitable

With the Putnam County Board of Commissioners set to finalize its 2023-24 general fund budget a couple of weeks from now, at least one confounding question lingers: with the county’s tax digest up 20 percent, why do extra revenues from that growth not eliminate any need for an additional millage...

Foster plans resignation from Putnam BOC

Late last week, Alan Foster unexpectedly tendered his resignation from the District 3 seat on the Putnam County Board of Commissioners.

STRs, de-annexation again dominate BOC meeting

On Tuesday last week, the Putnam County Board of Commissioners (BOC) postponed to September the schedule for a new short-term rentals ordinance, and with little comment approved forwarding to Eatonton City Council a new batch of de-annexation requests.

BOC: general obligation bonds may return

The Putnam County Board of Commissioners (BOC) is looking into a move that Putnam voters have not seen in 40 years or more. In fact, few – if any – Georgia counties or cities have used this method for financing public projects for decades.

Short-term rental ordinance continues taking shape

The broad outlines of a new short-term rentals (STR) ordinance seem to be taking shape, but plenty of the nitty-gritty details remain to be settled by the Putnam County Board of Commissioners, even with a fourth work session set to follow its usual first-Friday morning meeting.

Commissioners discuss STR law, hospital board, road repaving

A “week at the beach” may have long been a way of life in coastal communities, but the downside to some party weekends at Putnam’s lakefront properties has apparently risen rather quickly. “Too many people, too much noise, too many cars, up too late,” is the way one homeowner put it.

BOC: de-annexation, deep weeds, maps and omissions

Petitions to “de-annex” properties from the city of Eatonton under a new state law appear to be headed into the nitty-gritty details of a “deep weeds” stage.

BOC: Jimmy Davis Park, tourism dollars, rezoning

The ongoing saga of Jimmy Davis Park continued last week with County Manager Paul Van Haute reporting about alternative uses and the expenses of fencing – and with community activists continuing to push to “make it like it was.”