Brunswick City Hall says Cornelia City Manager Donald Anderson has removed his name from consideration for the open city manager position in the coastal Georgia town.

Anderson and former Zephyrhills, Florida City Manager James Drumm were the only two candidates named for the job from an original pool of 40 applicants.

Anderson had initially shown interest in moving to be closer to his family on Tybee, Island. He was born in the Savannah area and attended college at Armstrong Atlantic State University and Savannah State.

A meeting with Cornelia City Council members on Tuesday apparently changed his mind. After an executive session, local leaders offered to boost his salary by $9000 annually. Brunswick officials received notification on Thursday that he would no longer be seeking a position there.

Cornelia leaders say Anderson, who came to town in 2006, was instrumental in numerous improvements to the city over the past decade. With more big projects to come they look forward to his steady leadership continuing.

Georgia State Troopers are investigating a crash involving a stolen motorcycle in Cornelia.

Rabun County issued a look out for a red SUZUKI motorcycle and Habersham County deputies spotted it this morning on 365 heading south near Cody Rd.

Officers report that they attempted to pull him over but the rider accelerated and attempted to outrun them. He wrecked just after passing under the State Route 105/385 overpass in Cornelia.

The motorcycle flipped several times. The rider was thrown off and critically injured. Charges are pending from this morning’s chase. The unidentified rider’s current condition is unknown.

A view of the crash scene. Photo Courtesy: Chris Thompson

Now Habersham reported on a similar situation on 365 back in March. 31-year old Michael Wayne Hendrix of Jackson, Georgia attempted to outrun officers on March 23 and wrecked a motorcycle along 365 in Demorest. His injuries were not life-threatening. Hendrix was charged with DUI, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

Police and Fire services will get the lion’s share of Baldwin tax dollars in 2016.

Of the $2,047,133.26 the city plans to spend in its general fund, $779,366 will go to fund police operations while $629,574 will go for fire protection.

Finance Director Kym Smith says Baldwin’s focus on public safety is higher than other communities their size, “It’s hard to compare us to other jurisdictions. If you look at the population base, we’re not that big but then look at the fact that we’ve got (highways) 441 and 365, we have Fieldale, and we have an active train track. The potential for disasters to happen is so much higher here.”

The biggest single expense in both public safety departments is personnel. In addition to regular salaries, the city spends on insurance as well as state and federal employee taxes. “The only department that I can think of that has a significant increase (in funding) this year is the Police Department,” Smith explains. “Part of that is to add some personnel and part of it is to give rank to some officers.”

Baldwin doesn’t actually bring in enough tax money to cover both departments. In total, taxes only make up about 44% of the town’s total revenue. The rest comes from various fees and fines as well as grant money from state and federal sources and the money employers pay for background checks through the Police Department.

In addition to the General Fund, Baldwin’s Water and Sewer departments bring in about $3 million annually. State law requires that profits from these Enterprise Funds be spent exclusively on providing services meaning it will be spent on water treatment, maintenance, improving lines and other equipment within the Water and Sewer departments.

Baldwin also has almost a half million dollars from the various Habersham and Banks County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds. That money is already allocated to specific projects and purposes approved by voters.

Baldwin City Council is expected to approve the final version of the 2016 spending plan at their next regular meeting on June 22.