A room full of Union Countians witnessed the end of an era the evening of Thursday, Dec. 19, when Lamar Paris held his last regular meeting as sole commissioner, inside the Union County Courthouse.
It was a long meeting – counting 42 business items, the agenda was the largest Paris could remember after six terms in office – and he took some time at the end to thank residents, first responders and other county employees, including his staff in the Commissioner’s Office.
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“It’s been my honor for the last 24 years to serve the people in this community,” Paris said. “We’ve all worked hard, and it’s going to continue to take a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication.”
Paris received thanks in return, including a salute from veterans associated with the Appalachian Veterans Memorial Park in recognition of all he has done for residents generally and the local veteran population specifically.
One reason for the lengthy agenda was because Paris canceled the November county meeting due to illness among his staff, so the business from that meeting carried over to December. Also, there was plenty of year-end business to attend to.
Among the many agenda items, the very first was the now traditional presentation of public safety service awards by the Blue Ridge Mountains Chapter of the Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution, featuring SAR members Stephen Weaver, Jared Ogden and Sid Turner.
Together, the patriots honored Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy John George for his tireless dedication to law enforcement under retiring Sheriff Mack Mason; and the life-saving skills of Union General EMS Paramedic Deborah Stancil for going above and beyond the call of duty.
Stancil also earned a special honor and scholarship awarded to a local EMS professional each year – the Murray S. King Award. Kendra King presented the memorial award named for her husband, a SAR member who passed away in 2014 but received compassionate care from EMS.
In other business, Paris accepted an affidavit re-appointing Libby Stevens to another four-year term on the Union County Board of Elections; appointed Courtney Waller to a four-year term on the Union County Development Authority; and re-appointed Dr. Elizabeth Wiles and William Stone to six-year terms on the Union County Board of Health.
He also approved a $637,355 agreement with Mallory & Evans Service Co. to remove and replace the existing rooftop units at the Community Center, with an estimated completion timeline of 180 days from the delivery of the units.
Paris accepted a one-year agreement with the Blairsville-Union County Chamber of Commerce for the distribution of 70% of hotel-motel tax receipts. The agreement is dated Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025, and is the same arrangement as 2024.
Prior to 2024, the chamber received 90% of hotel-motel tax distributions throughout Paris’ tenure, even though only 40% of revenues generated from the tax are legally required to be spent on efforts related to tourism, conventions and trade shows, like the chamber.
What remains of collections each year after tourism-related distributions – up to 60%, but in this case 30% – can go toward discretionary spending in the county General Fund, which is the main operating fund of Union County Government that provides for public services.
Paris has long justified the distribution arrangement by saying that the chamber undertakes many efforts that benefit Union County, both in a promotional sense to foster tourism and economic development, and in a civic sense by hosting and assisting with community events for residents.
It remains to be seen what future funding looks like for the chamber, as incoming Sole Commissioner Harold Collins made a campaign pledge to redirect hotel-motel tax distributions away from the chamber and to the Union County Development Authority.
As part of this pledge, Collins has said he wants to invest “only the required funds” from hotel-motel tax collections to go toward tourism “under the authority of Union County Economic Authority, with the balance of hotel-motel taxes going to reduce property taxes.”
Also in the Dec. 19 meeting, Paris adopted the FY2025 Budget. As previously reported, the 2025 budget for the county’s main operating account, the General Fund, is 3.7% larger than the 2024 budget, coming in about a million dollars higher at $28,053,041.
The projected increase in the new budget “is to account for the rising inflation rate, as well as to increase salaries to keep up with the population growth,” according to information provided in a recent budget public hearing.
Resident Vince Peterson appeared as a guest speaker in the meeting to tell attendees that the 2025 budget contains a $2.8 million deficit that requires the use of reserve spending to fill, which, if not corrected in future budgets, will ultimately necessitate a property tax increase.
Among other business, Paris accepted a federal “Assistance to Firefighters Grant” in the amount of $68,050.65, which requires a 10% match by the county of $6,805.07. The grant will be used to purchase supplies and attack lines for firetrucks of the Union County Fire Department.
In his Commissioner’s Comments, Paris related some key accomplishments of his administration – the longest of any sole commissioner in Union County history.
He highlighted the fact that the county has: a healthy $9 million in General Fund reserves; been debt-free since May 2021; enjoyed “clean” independent audits his entire time in office; currently $8 million in usable SPLOST revenues with $7 million in 2025 collection projections; new and exciting SPLOST projects coming up, like the E-911 Center and hospital roundabout; numerous cost-effective public services carried out by hardworking, dedicated staff members; one of the state’s lowest property tax rates every year; a thriving Recreation Department reflecting growth in local youth involvement; tremendous public safety personnel and operations; and more.
Paris expressed gratitude for his wife Dinah, who was in attendance, and joked to incoming Commissioner Collins, also present at the meeting, that Mrs. Collins “was going to have a tough time.”
“You think your job’s going to be hard,” Paris said, “her job’s going to be hard, because she’s got to put up with you getting chewed out by people when you get home in the afternoon, and somebody didn’t like what you did.
“It’s so frustrating when you work so hard to try to do the right thing, but there’s people that are going to dislike whatever it is you do. So, you just have to be ready for that; it’s just part of the job.
“But I love what I’ve done, I’ve loved this community. I will still be here. I’ll still want to help the community when and where I can – but politics is not one of those. But thank y’all for being here, coming to the meeting, participating and finding out what’s going on in this county.”
Outgoing Commissioner Paris received a standing ovation at the end of the meeting and several personal “thank-you’s” from attendees.
The first regular county meeting of 2025 led by new Sole Commissioner Collins will take place on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m. inside Courtroom A of the Union County Courthouse.
