By: Summer Kelley, Staff Reporter 

County Executive Ted Rumley, and other county and city administrators, have been taking local issues to the state.

Every year county and city officials across the state of Georgia go into overdrive as they prepare to present their “cases” at the state level. While legislators are in session, putting the majority of state officials in one place at one time, county and city officials visit Atlanta to bring various matters to the state’s attention. Dade County is no exception and Rumley has already made the trip multiple times this session.

“We started preparing a couple of months ago,” Rumley said. “You have to prepare before you go. All the counties go down while the legislature is in session to handle different matters. It is a very important time in the state of Georgia. You have to have a presence all year, but this is a real critical time when decisions are made. It is that way for any county in the state of Georgia.”

His most recent trip was made the week before last and helped produce almost immediate results in two matters.

The first issue to see a resolution was a problem with flooding in Canyon Estates at the foot of Lookout Mountain.

A gulch coming out of the canyon and receiving runoff from rain had filled with silt and was overflowing, flooding homes in the housing development. Members of the community had approached the county about the flooding problem a year ago and negotiations with the state, the Environmental Protection Department and others began.

After meetings in Atlanta, the county was finally given the okay to clean the gulch out. The project was completed in two hours last Monday.

There are still a few more things the county would like to do regarding the flood issue, but Rumley said the remaining projects will take the help of the corps of engineers.

The next matter that has seen action is the issue regarding a red light on Highway 136 East in front of Dade County High School. During school hours and special events, traffic becomes very congested at the intersection.

The problem has been brought to the attention of the Department of Transportation and Rumley said Tuesday morning that a traffic count was being done at that very moment.

“The meetings went pretty good, they’ve been very positive,” Rumley said. “We have at least one more meeting left to go.”

Another issue that may soon see resolution is the matter of Dade County’s tier status. The county was placed at a Tier 2 status by the state that shows Dade in high/moderate income financial bracket. Rumley is trying to have Dade County moved to the lower, Tier 1, bracket so that businesses in the county will be able to receive more state and federal incentives. For comparison, Walker County is a Tier 2 county and Chattooga is a lower, Tier 1 county.

“We are definitely not a high to moderate income county,” Rumley said. “There is no way.”

County officials have already pled their case to the Department of Community Affairs using statistics from the Joint Development Authority, the regional commission in Rome, the 2000 Census and the Department of Labor. The county will not know whether or not they will be moved to a new tier until after the Department of Community Affairs meets on April 15.

“We haven’t accomplished anything that will bring money from the state, yet, which is why we go to Atlanta,” Rumley said. “Everywhere we go they say they’re broke. State governments are struggling like county governments.”