Waycross has a new City Attorney and its residents who are property owners have the possibility of paying lower taxes.
Cheslyn M. Green, a Waycross native, was sworn in as City Attorney Tuesday, June 3 during the City Commission meeting in City Hall. The Waycross native replaces Assistant City Attorney Huey Spearman, who had served as Interim City Attorney since the April 30, 2024 retirement of Rick Currie.
Green’s hiring was among the items commissioners handled on a short agenda for their first bi-monthly meeting of June. Commissioners also approved three resolutions.
One of the measures approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Ware County Commission for a onecent Flexible Local Option Sales Tax to be placed on the November 4 Municipal Election ballot for voter consideration. If approved, all proceeds would go toward lowering city and county property tax bills.
In other business, commissioners also honored Waycross Fire Department Driver-Engineer Austin Alderman as Employee of the Month for June. Mayor Michael-Angelo James conducted the meeting with all commissioners present.
City Attorney hired
Green’s hiring was finalized when the commissioners met in executive session following their planning and information session Monday. Human Resources Director Marissa Hendrix said Green was one of two final applicants for the post.
Green is a 1997 graduate of Ware County High School, who earned her law degree in January 2014 from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich. She has served as an Assistant District Attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit and Dougherty County DA’s Office.
Since March 2022, she has been a pre-litigation attorney for John Foy & Associates, according to her resumé.
Green said the job presented an opportunity to return home where her parents, Jimmy Lee and Sorestine Yvonne Green still live.
Resolutions
If approved in November, the FLOST would add a penny to the citycounty sales tax for a period of five years beginning January 1. Proceeds would be split on the same 58-42 ratio between the county and city population figures as the Local Option Sales Tax.
The FLOST would ease the tax burden for residential, rental and commercial property as the Homestead Exemption does for primary residences. Ware Commissioners were to consider their part in the intergovernmental agreement Monday, June 9, according to a meeting agenda.
The second resolution approved a contract with Galls, LLC of Lexington, Ky., for uniforms for the Waycross Fire Department. The contract can be renewed annually for up to four years upon mutual agreement of terms by the parties.
The final resolution approved a second amendment to the restated agreement passed at the commission’s May 20 for service from Inframark, LLC doing business as ESG Operations.
The new base fee for the firm handling the city’s water and wastewater service will be $2.93 million beginning July 1, 2025 paid in equal monthly installments of $247, 280 for the contract year.
The resolution corrected errors and omissions in the earlier adopted resolution.
Employee of month
Alderman joined the city fire department in 2019 as a firefighter, Chief Jim Blackburn stated in introducing the honoree. He said Alderman immediately displayed a strong work ethic and quickly proved himself to be a great asset to the department.
The honoree was promoted to his current rank last July.
The chief praised Alderman for his attention to detail and efforts to maintain the reliability of all appratus and equipment. Alderman recently completed extensive training that enables him to be deployed as part of a statewide team of rescue personnel in a variety of scenarios.
“He has consistently displayed strong leadership qualities and willingness to take on additional responsibility,” Chief Blackburn said.
