Qualifying Dates For Election Start Sept. 20

By REBECCA HAZEN
News Editor

Carolyn Hixson, board member on the Board of Elections, spoke about the upcoming elections during the weekly county update on Thursday, June 24.

There will be two elections on the same day, the city election and the county election, on Nov. 2.

“We are getting an early start because we want to give time for the candidates that want to be in the election to have time to qualify. It takes time to send all that information in to the state, where there are ballot builders. Then we start early voting,” Hixson said.

The city election will be for the police commissioner and parks and recreation commissioner positions. These positions are currently held by Kirk Forshee and Terry Powell.

The county election will be for the remainder of Allan Bradford’s term, the District 4 seat commissioner, ending in 2024. Melissa C. Bradford, Allan’s daughter, is currently the interim commissioner.

“This election will be called the General Special Election. The general part is for the city,” Hixson explained.

Qualifying dates for the District 4 County Commissioner position will be Sept. 20-21 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sept. 22 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The qualifying fee is $120.

Advanced voting will be Oct 12-16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 18-23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Oct. 25-29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. These dates include two Saturdays.

On Election Day, Nov. 2, all polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

All city voters will vote at the Dade County Administrative Building. All county voters must vote in their regular precinct, if voting on Election Day.

If anyone has any questions, they can reach the Board of Elections Office at (706) 657-8170.

Paula Duvall, Chief Appraiser, with the Dade County Tax Assessor Office, informed citizens about important tax related dates.

Jan. 1 is the tax date in Georgia.

“What that means is however the property was set on Jan. 1, that is what will be reflected in the tax bill at the end of the year. You will be paying taxes on what was on the property, or who was on the property, on Jan. 1,” Duvall explained.

April 1 is when the books close. That means after April 1, you cannot apply for any homestead exemptions to count for that particular year.

“You can apply for exemptions year round, but keep in mind that if you apply after April 1, those exemptions will not apply until the next year,” Duvall said.

For more information, or if anyone has questions, they can call the Assessor Office at (706) 657-6341 or visit qpublic.net/ga/dade/.

Construction on Morganville Ridge Road is going well, according to County Executive Ted Rumley.

“The weather is working well with us so it is moving right along … they are putting in some long days,” Rumley said.

Rumley also noted that CHI Memorial is building a new hospital in Catoosa County.

“It is going to be a massive undertaking,” Rumley said. “It will be good for northwest Georgia.”

Construction of the hospital will start in spring of 2022 and the expected completion date will be mid-2024.

Dade County has seen three cases in the past two weeks, for a total of 1,241 COVID-19 cases. The number of cases can be found at https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report.

The county update is broadcasted online on Thursdays at 3 p.m. The broadcast can be found on the County’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.