Roaming dogs, thawing the freeze and garbage collection dominated mayor’s forum at Britt David Academy

More than 110 Columbus residents filled auditorium at Britt David Academy to seek answers Thursday night on roaming animals, thawing the freeze and Muscogee County Prison inmates digging through residential trash.

While the topics are typical at most “Let’s Talk with the Mayor” forums, Mayor Teresa Tomlinson said the meetings with residents give her a chance to discuss concerns with city officials and brainstorm on solutions.

Faye Layne asked the mayor about ways to control dogs on the loose after she was forced to stay inside her vehicle.

Drale Short of Animal Control said if problems are repeated in a neighborhood, residents are reluctant to file a charge. “A lot of times people say they are my neighbors and they don’t want to press charges,” Short said. “When you press charges, we start a criminal record in Recorder’s Court on that individual.”

A record of the activity helps the judge see that the case has been to court before on the same issue. Short said charges can be filed even if the roaming animals have left by the time authorities arrive to check on the problem.

Layne also is concerned about the mayor’s effort to “Thaw the Freeze,” which will be on the ballot this year.

“Lifting the property tax freeze really will harm me financially,” she said.

Tomlinson disagreed, stating that she would never support lifting the property tax freeze. “ I would oppose that absolutely,” she said. “What I am for is thawing the property tax freeze. “

The tax assessment freeze was approved by referendum in 1983 to freeze a homestead’s taxable assessment at the time of the sale for owner owner occupied homes. The mayor’s plan to thaw the property tax assessment freeze would keep the freeze in place on all existing homestead properties that are currently under the freeze for as long as the current owner owns it. If the property is sold or there is a death, the property would lose the freeze and be placed in a more common fair market value tax system. If approved by voters, all homestead properties bought after Jan. 1, 2017, would be under the new market system.

Soon after taking office, Tomlinson said she heard about the impact of the current tax assessment freeze. There are 13,000 property owners paying less than $50 a year.

For Lisa Jenkins, a Hilton Heights resident, her concern focused on prison inmates digging through trash. She is concerned that is possible with the big blue bins and no way to keep an eye on inmates picking up garbage. She suggested the city place some mirrors on the back for the driver to monitor inmates on the back of the truck to protect residents.

Ron Smith of Public Works said cameras will be on the back of the newer trucks the city will be able to hopefully purchase one day. “The trucks we have now , the driver can’t drive down the road and look at what they are doing,” he said.

When inmates are digging through garbage, they are looking for food, discarded alcohol and medications. Smith encouraged residents to call the city and if possible get the truck’s number. “That helps me to identify who it is and where it is,” he said. “I can get to it quickly. We will stop it. “

The city is trying to stop inmates from going through garbage. “It’s more of a perception problem than anything,” he said. “ We will have cameras on the back and the driver will be able to see back there. Hopefully that will solve some of the problems.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Roaming dogs, thawing the freeze and garbage collection dominated mayor’s forum at Britt David Academy."