Ben Hill County extends limited public access through July 3, empowers tax commissioner to waive COVID penalties and approves fee increases

At a teleconference meeting on June 2, 2020, the Ben Hill County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to extend limited public access to county buildings through July 3, 2020; grant the Tax Commissioner authority to waive certain penalties and interest related to COVID‑19; and approve increases to permit, occupational and business license fees.

The emergency meeting was conducted under OCGA 50‑14‑1(g) and OCGA 38‑3‑54 because of the state public‑health emergency. Vice‑Chair Hope Harmon moved to approve the agenda, with Commissioner John Mooney seconding; the board also approved the May 5, 2020 minutes with a correction to the manager’s report. Chairman Steve Taylor called each commissioner’s name to record the votes.

Commissioner John Mooney moved the measures to extend restricted public access and to delegate authority to the Tax Commissioner to waive certain penalties and interest; Vice‑Chair Hope Harmon seconded both motions. Both motions passed with the full board voting in favor (Commissioners John Mooney, Bennie Calloway, Daniel Cowan; Vice‑Chair Hope Harmon; and Chairman Steve Taylor). The board then adopted a related resolution formally authorizing the Tax Commissioner to waive specified penalties and interest in response to the COVID‑19 emergency.

The commissioners also approved a comprehensive update to the county’s fee schedule. County Manager Michael Dinnerman said he and Building Inspector Lawton Lovett and Commissioner Mooney reviewed rates in surrounding counties to arrive at equitable increases. The agenda included detailed tables covering occupational‑tax tiers, regulatory fees and professional fees; examples shown in the record include higher new rates for categories such as lawyers and various licensed professionals and raised charges across vendor and contractor classes. The meeting transcript presents the full fee tables as part of the record.

Manager Dinnerman and Commissioner Mooney said the county is revamping the Building & Zoning permitting process to make it more user friendly and faster; Dinnerman said the public will be able to walk through the new permitting process on the county website, bring documents to the office for processing, and should receive a permit in about 10 minutes.

The record does not specify an effective date for the new fee schedule beyond its approval at the June 2 meeting. The board adjourned after brief commissioner remarks.