Twenty volunteers met at the Carrollton/North Carrollton Fire Department Fire Station at 8 a.m. on January 1, 2018, to plan how to meet the fire needs for the Carrollton/North Carrollton area. Sixteen experienced firefighters joined Tom Hearn to provide fire and emergency service for the Carrollton/North Carrollton area. Tim Cassidy was chosen to serve as interim fire chief. The Towns are still accepting applications for volunteers to serve our communities. To volunteer, contact the Carrollton Town Hall at 237-4600 or the North Carrollton Town Hall at 237-9268.
NOTICE OF TAX INCREASE
The Town of Carrollton will hold a public hearing on its proposed budget for fiscal year ending September 30, 2018 on Monday, September 25, 2017 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Town of Carrollton Town Hall. At this meeting, a proposed ad valorem tax revenue increase in the proposed budget will be considered.
The Town of Carrollton is now operating with projected total budget revenue of $186,430. Thirty-six percent (36%), or $67,200, of such revenue is obtained through ad valorem taxes. For next fiscal year, the proposed budget has total projected revenue of $200,434. Of that amount, thirty-five percent (35%), or $70,200, is proposed to be financed through a total ad valorem tax levy.
For next fiscal year, the Town of Carrollton plans to increase your ad valorem tax millage rate by 2 mills, from 47 mills to 49 mills. One (1) mill of the increase is for street repairs and improvements.
This increase in ad valorem tax revenue means that you will pay more in ad valorem taxes on your home, automobile tag, utilities, business fixtures and equipment, and rental real property.
Any citizen of the Town of Carrollton is invited to attend this public hearing on the proposed ad valorem tax revenue increase in the budget and will be allowed to speak for a reasonable amount of time and offer tangible evidence before the proposed budget is final.
You may have noticed some new signs in Carrollton. Like the one on the side of Jim Neill’s building which says no parking – fire lane. Or the one that says one way – do not enter at the foot of Hafner Street. If you have exited the Carroll Academy campus onto College Street, the sign says no right turn, indicating traffic should take Hafner to arrive at Lexington Street.
These and other signs have been erected to help improve the safety of the students who attend school in our town, their parents who bring or pick them up and the residents who call Carrollton home. Please pay attention to the signs and obey them. They were not erected on a whim or the flip of a coin, but with much thought for public safety!
Drive safely in Carrollton. Obey the traffic signs!
Questions we hear a lot:
Q Is one way on Hafner Street only for school hours?
A No! Hafner Street from that sign back up to College Street is one way, 24/7/365, unlike previous designations.
Q Can we still drive straight into the ball fields or do we have to go around by the school?
A Yes, you can still travel on Hafner from Lexington to the ball fields. One way starts after you pass that drive.
While we spend a lot of time and effort on the annual pilgrimage, visitors are in Carrollton more often than we may realize. Here are some examples of visitors who came to Carrollton in the last four days.
- Some came from Clinton, Mississippi Friday to tour the town. They are retired and enjoy visiting different parts of Mississippi on day trips. They enjoyed their visit and lunch and plan to come back for the Pilgrimage.
- The next day visitors from Brookhaven, Mississippi, and New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, came to visit the Merrill Museum. Their ancestor is the Merrill of Merrill Store. While they were here they ate in North Carrollton and paid their respects to relatives buried at Evergreen. They are also planning to come back for the Pilgrimage.
- Later Saturday, five out-of-town visitors were making pictures around the Courthouse.
- On Monday, a couple from Anniston, Alabama, came to visit the Merrill Museum as well. His ancestor was from Coila.
That is 16 people from 3 states in 4 days – that we know of. Why are these visitors important? They represent the many visitors who come and their reasons for coming. They all comment on the hospitality of our town and our beautiful and historic structures.
As residents of Carrollton, let’s each do our part to keep Carrollton looking good all year. If you walk around town for your health, help by picking up litter as you go. If you notice street signs that are down or need repair, let town hall know. When wind and storms displace branches that are small enough to be moved easily, please pick them up and discard them or call the town hall to have them picked up on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday from the side of the street. Litter and small debris cause problems for our drainage system so let’s do our part to keep our systems working and our town beautiful. We have a small population with limited resources, but with everyone’s help, we can make a difference.
On July 6, the new board and mayor for the Town of Carrollton were sworn in by Chancery Clerk Stanley “Sugar” Mullins.
Mayor Pam Lee
Alderman Tommy Goodman, Allen Lee, Ryan Jackson, Warren Long, and Susan Dunn
Everyone is invited to the annual Tabernacle 4th of July Service will be held on Sunday, July 2 at 6:00 pm. This is a time change because of the heat.
Responsibility for the service rotates among the member churches – Carrollton Baptist, Carrollton Methodist, Carrollton Presbyterian, North Carrollton Baptist and North Carrollton Methodist.
North Carrollton Baptist Church is in charge of the service this year. Rev. Ed Saunders will present the message. A community choir will practice at 5:30 pm at the North Carrollton Church. Anyone interested in singing is invited to come practice.
An important part of the service will be the recognition of our veterans by the Third Arrow Chapter of the DAR.
The Town of Carrollton held a public hearing in November 2016 to discuss the Carrollton Zoning Plan with the community, followed by a public comment period. The purpose of the plan is to promote the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the community with the goal of preserving the unique character of the community and property values through land use planning. Feedback has been received from the public and incorporated into the final version of the plan, which will be available for review at the Carrollton Water Department until April 4, 2017. Please Contact the Town Clerk at 662-237-4600 or send an email to townofcarrollton@cableone.net to schedule a time to review the plan.
2017 A Taste of Soup and Art Exhibit
Saturday, February 4 11 am to 12:30 pm
Carrollton Community House
Happy Birthday Mississippi: Celebrating 200 Years
Come taste 6 new soups!
Burger in a Bowl Soup
Chicken, Lemon & Rice Soup
Easy Chili
New Year’s Day Good Luck Soup
Mexican Stew
Smoky Pork Taco Soup
Artists to be featured include Elizabeth Saunders as our youth artist, Linda James – paintings,
Pam Shaw – birdhouses, Charlene Senn – machine embroidery, and Stephanie Clanton – photography.
A Taste of Soup and Art Exhibit began 2007 with a dual purpose. The first was and still is to raise funds to help with purchases for the Carrollton North Carrollton Library. The Friends of the Carrollton-North Carrollton Library [FoL] based this fundraiser on one in Arkansas and added the art exhibit to recognize some of the many talented people in Carroll County. Some of the artists will have items for sale and others will not.
A Taste of Soup and Art Exhibit has been very successful, allowing us to purchase everything from books to racks to hold books on tape or CD to landscaping for the library. We also help with the different activities, such as the summer reading program and book signings for local authors.
Although we always provide a platter “tray” to carry the soup cups on, we encourage people to bring their own regular size muffin tins to set the cups of soup in for steadier tray. A tin for a dozen muffins will also have space for the cornbread, crackers and drink, but a tray of six works ok.
A number of door prizes will again be given away. However, this year instead of drawing tickets, answers to trivia questions about Mississippi will be the way to win prizes. So look up Mississippi Trivia before you come and pay attention to the posters and table decorations so you too can win a door prize.
Tickets are sold at the Carrollton-North Carrollton Library and by Friends of the Library. Most of the tickets are sold before the event because we have limited seating, but they may be available at the door this year. Tickets are $10 and include the annual recipe book.
To check on availability of tickets, call the Carrollton-North Carrollton Library at 662-237-6268.
For more information, call Pam Lee at 662-237-6910.
