How much are our elected officials of Hall County paid?
The following is a list of salaries, according to Hall County records. These salaries do not include a 5 percent cut due to monthly furlough days, which have been in place since 2008. Some of these officials were elected after 2008 and have never received this full salary amount.
- Superior Court Judge Bonnie Oliver: $180,624
- Superior Court Judge Andrew Fuller: $180,624
- Superior Court Judge Kathlene Gosselin: $180,624
- Superior Court Judge Jason Deal: $180,624
- State Court Judge Charles Wynne: $162,561
- State Court Judge Bernard Gene Roberts III: $162,561
- State Court Judge Larry Baldwin II: $162,561
- Probate Judge Patti Cornett: $140,317
- Magistrate Judge Margaret Gregory: $144,508
- District Attorney Lee Darragh: $165,042
- Clerk of Court Charles Baker: $102,998
- Sheriff Steve Cronic: $132,595
- Tax Commissioner Keith Echols: $95,057
- Coroner Marion Merck: $12,800
- Surveyor Chris Patton: --
- Solicitor Stephanie Woodard: $145,179
- Commissioner Craig Lutz: $7,701*
- Commissioner Billy Powell: $7,894 *
- Commissioner Scott Gibbs: $6,301 *
- Commissioner Ashley Bell: $7,701 *
- Commission Chairman Tom Oliver: $7,894 *
*Commissioners also get $178 for each meeting with a maximum of 12 meetings and $25,632 a year total.
Court Administrator Reggie Forrester said judge salaries follow a particular formula mandated by state law. Superior Court judges make a set amount and judges underneath them make a certain percentage of that.
County commissioner salaries differ slightly due to different levels of certifications they may hold.
I recently saw a report that one county had installed cameras on the sides of their school buses in order to get the license plate numbers for cars that do not stop when the buses do. There is a bill that needs to pass in order for them to start issuing tickets. I travel Thompson Bridge Road each morning and there are always people that don't stop because of the divided highway with turning lanes. I was wondering if Hall County or Gainesville City Schools had ever thought about doing something similar.
Hall County Schools is looking into this option, according to Jewel Armour, executive director of operations with Hall County Schools.
"I have looked at this setup but have not made a decision yet," Armour said. "I have not ruled it out but I want to study it more."
Armour also noted that vehicles are not required to stop for school buses where there is a median on a divided highway.
The system does not allow students to cross a four-lane or any main roadway, he added.
Gainesville City Schools Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said that system also has looked into this option. She added that main highways, like Thompson Bridge and Cleveland Highway, are some areas of concern.
What about those green and white road signs claiming that seat belt usage last month was 95 percent, etc.? Who determines this and how is it calculated?
The Hall County Sheriff's Office traffic enforcement unit obtains these numbers "by conducting periodic visual audits at randomly selected key intersections throughout the county," said Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks, spokesman for the sheriff's office.
"They actually stand at intersections counting cars and seat belt usage to obtain the percentage of compliance."
Wilbanks noted they generally count for about two hours and citations are not issued during that time since it would interrupt the counting process.
"It is purely an analytical tool," he said.
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