Runnymede Estates Homeowners Association

Important Info for Runnymede Residents

Your Government!!!

Pertinent Info for Runnymede Estates

-We are located in unincorporated Clayton County, governed by the Clayton County Board of Commissioners and represented by District 4 Commissioner Charley Griswell. We are not within any part of any city in Clayton County; that portion of your mailing address simply refers to the zip code/post office your mail goes through. The Commission meets the 1st Tuesday of each month at 7pm; the 2nd & 3rd Tuesdays of each month at 9am. All meetings are held at 112 Smith Street in Jonesboro.

-The county provides road surfacing, police, animal control, fire/EMS, and zoning/code enforcement services. The county levies property tax, a one cent LOST (Local Option Sales Tax), and a one cent SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax). There are also special district taxes for fire protection and other purposes.

***The head of the Transportation & Development Department is Wayne Patterson; his department handles road & public works problems.

***The Chief of Police is Darrell Partain; we are in the South Precinct (zones 8, 9). Animal Control is a function of the Police Department.

***The Fire/EMS Chief is Alex Cohilas; we are covered by Fire Stations 5 & 8.

***The head of the Community Development Department is Eddie Williams; his department handles code enforcement and issuance of permits. Zoning decisions are made by the Board of Commissioners, based on citizen petitions and recommendations made by the Zoning Advisory Board. That board is made up of people appointed by the commissioners. Administratively, the functions are executed by the Department of Community Development.

-Residents are responsible for providing residential garbage pick-up.

-Water and sewer are provided by the Clayton County Water Authority, which is an independent governmental organization NOT under the control of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners (although the commissioners appoint the members of the CCWA Board, the Water Authority is not a part/department of the county government; it is more like a public corporation).

-Schools are provided by the Clayton County Board of Education, which is also a separate governmental entity from the county government. The school district sets its own separate property tax rate, which must be collected by the county, and also has its own one cent SPLOST, separate from the county’s SPLOST. The Board meets on the 1st and/or 2nd Mondays of each month at 7pm at its Administration Building located at 1058 Fifth Avenue in Jonesboro.

-There are a number of county elected officials who serve the county, but they are NOT employees of the county government, nor subject to the authority of the county commission. They are:

**The Tax Commissioner - Terry Baskin

**The Sheriff - Victor Hill

**The Clerk of Superior Court - Linda Miller

**The Probate Judge - Pam Ferguson

**The District Attorney - Jewel Scott

**The Solicitor General - Leslie Miller-Terry

**The judges of the Superior, State, Juvenile and Magistrate’s Courts. The Chief Judges of these courts are: for Superior Court - Stephen Boswell; for the State Court - Harold Benefield; for the Juvenile Court - K. Van Banke; for the Magistrate's Court - Daphne Walker

**The Health Department (a sub-division of the state Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health). The Director of the Clayton County Office is Dr. Stephen Morgan

**The Department of Family & Children Services (DFACS) (a sub-division of the state Department of Human Resources, Division of Family & Children Services). The Director of the Clayton County Office is Cathy Ratti

Each of these officials/entities receives money from the county government to perform their function, but they are arms and extensions of the state government and perform state-mandated functions, according to Georgia law.

Each of these entities has its own website for information, and most can be accessed through the County Government’s website through links.