Stephens County voters now will go to one place to cast their ballots in upcoming elections.
As part of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the city of Toccoa, the Stephens County Commission approved designation of the Historic Courthouse downtown as the central voting location countywide, which officials say will save the county money long term.
“The city has made some suggestions to revise the intergovernmental agreement that we are signing for elections, moving all their elections to the Historic Courthouse,” Stephens County Administrator Christian Hamilton said during a regular meeting Tuesday, April 8. “It’s a really great opportunity to consolidate all of our services in one location.”
Amendments to the IGA are minor, Hamilton said, and won’t change services or the fundamental language of the agreement.
On average, the county spends around $33,000 on smaller elections, officials said after the meeting.
“In the past, the city of Toccoa has done elections inside City Hall,” Hamilton said after Tuesday’s meeting. “We certainly appreciate that, but what that means is we our staffing county election workers at City Hall. We’re having to go back and forth as well with our elections supervisors. We’re having to pay for that under our current agreement, so our goal is to bring everything in house in one location.”
