Ben Hill County commissioners open 2026 comprehensive plan process and adopt multiple county policies

Ben Hill County commissioners on April 8, 2025, opened the public process for the 2026 Comprehensive Plan update and unanimously approved several county policy changes and an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Fitzgerald.

Marcus McConico of the South Georgia Regional Commission opened a public hearing on the comprehensive-plan update, providing the previous plan and a sign-in sheet to the board. McConico told commissioners that the plan is required every five years and "has to be approved by DCA" with a deadline of Feb. 28, 2026, and he recommended three stakeholder meetings in late April, May and June 2025 to meet Department of Community Affairs (DCA) expectations.

County Manager Hampton Raulerson said he intends to work closely with the commissioners on a realistic five- to 10-year work plan and noted that DCA "does not take out" incomplete items from prior plans without a stated reason. "I will be meeting with the Commissioners to see what we want to accomplish over the next 5 to 10 years," Raulerson said.

On formal actions, the board moved and passed each item unanimously. Vice-Chair Hope Harmon moved to adopt an Inclement Weather Policy; Commissioner Bennie Calloway seconded and the motion passed with all five commissioners voting in favor. The board also adopted a Compensatory Time for Exempt Employees Policy and adopted the Finance Policy Draft after motions by Commissioner John Mooney and seconding by Vice-Chair Harmon. The board approved an intergovernmental agreement regarding properties used for joint services between Ben Hill County and the City of Fitzgerald; that motion likewise passed unanimously.

Raulerson provided operational updates: painting at the County's new Administration Building (the former Planters First Bank) is nearly complete, carpet cleaning and selective replacements are planned, an IT vendor (identified in the record as Asyst) is expected to finish work within about two weeks, a box culvert has been installed on Flint Road and right-of-way clearing on Ed Ward Road has begun with paving to follow when scheduled. He also noted a pickup ordered for the Road Department from the local Ford dealership is expected in the coming months.

Vice-Chair Hope Harmon gave a legislative report on Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. Harmon said Georgia received $265,726,000 from HUD for recovery activities related to the 2023–24 hurricanes and that while Ben Hill County was not in the original federal disaster declaration it has been added to the state's eligible list and therefore may apply for eligible programs through the Department of Community Affairs. Harmon listed likely program types: homeowner rehabilitation, affordable rental rehabilitation, infrastructure grants for local governments and planning programs. DCA is accepting public comments on the Disaster Action Plan through April 19, 2025; Harmon said at least one hearing recording should be available by April 10 and urged participation in two DCA unmet-needs surveys (a public survey and a government survey) to help shape allocations.

There were no public comments, no executive session, and no appointments reported. Vice-Chair Harmon said the initial meet-and-greet for the Opioid Prevention Program drew a strong turnout and that the judges will be met separately; a reliance session is scheduled later in the month. The meeting was adjourned.

Next steps: the county will schedule stakeholder meetings for the comprehensive-plan update and county staff will present a larger set of personnel policy updates at the next monthly meeting.