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In the final forum hosted by the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, the candidates for Board of Commissioners District 2 faced off.

Jamie Thrailkill (R), who defeated incumbent Ellis Cadenhead in the earlier Republican primary, will take on Andrew Moody in the general election on Nov. 5. Early voting is already underway, so both candidates were eager to make their cases to voters.

The forum was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and live-streamed by The LaGrange Daily News. Videos of the forum, including other races, are available on both the Chamber and LDN Facebook pages.Thrailkill is a small business owner and a lifelong resident of Troup County. He said he bought the business when he was 20 years old and has run West Georgia Glass for 35 years.

Moody is a retired Army veteran, having served from 1976 to 2000, where he was a Human Resources Manager and instructor teaching management and communication. He also worked as a systems engineer during his career.

Each candidate was given 90 seconds for each question, with two minutes for an opening and closing statement.  

Some of the questions covered in Tuesday’s forum include:

Troup County’s 2024 budget of $54 million includes significant increases for public safety, with more funding for jail expenses, employee cost of living adjustments, and additional firefighters. Given these budget priorities, how would you maintain a balance and balance the need for enhanced public safety with other community needs such as infrastructure and recreational facilities?

“Public safety is very important. We’ve got the sheriff’s department and the fire department. That’s something that got to be top. If you don’t have law and order, everything’s out of control. We see that in the bigger cities around the nation now,” Thrailkill said. “So what we have to do is just watch the spending on other places so we can see where money should be spent.”

“Troup County has a good sheriff’s department and a good police department, but I’d like to see more groups and more diversity,” Moody said. “It’s almost like a community police area like in the military. We have all walks of life. We don’t just have one group of people because we have a diverse community. LaGrange is growing at a rapid pace. We’ve got more inclusion going on here.”

Despite rising property assessments, the county maintained the 2024 millage rate at 9.923 Mills which some residents have raised concerns about the impact of higher assessments on their tax bills. How would you address the rising property assessments that affect homeowners, and would you support adjusting the millage rate to provide relief?

“Yes, I would. I think we pay enough taxes. My concern is the corporate giants in LaGrange; I’m not sure if they pay a fair amount of taxes. I think if we make a profit we pay taxes, it should be fair. What KIA pays, what does Milliken pay, and what is their mill rate? What are they paying? I know I pay a lot in taxes,” Moody said.

“If it comes down to it, yes, I could vote to adjust millage rate,  but we have to make sure we have enough income coming in to support the services that we offer,” Thrailkill said. “The thing the state’s passing down is 3% [limit] on the top … so if that gets into place, that’s going to help property owners, too, where they won’t be paying more than 3% on top each year. It won’t be a massive percentage increase in one year.”

The county has held multiple public hearings on budget and sanitation changes, and some residents have voiced concerns about the level of engagement and community communication from the commissioners. How would you improve transparency and encourage greater public participation in decision-making processes for the county? Are there specific platforms or outreach strategies you would use to engage with the community?

“If elected on Nov. 5, they can call me anytime,” Thrailkill said. “What has been done under sanitation, the company that’s got it now has a rollover contract, and it was rolled over. The information I got was there was very little talk about redoing it, but I guarantee you, if I am elected on Nov. 5, we will talk the next time the contract comes up to renegotiate for the citizens of Troup County, and I’ll be open with them and talk to them, and I’ll answer any questions they need.”

“I was affected by that change, that garbage contract,” Moody said. “It was kind of upsetting for many people. I heard them [ask], why did they close down this dumpster? Why can’t you dump out here at this dumpster?”

“You shouldn’t dictate when you want to dump your trash. They took that away from us, and I don’t know what the commission was thinking when they did it because there was nothing wrong with the one we had prior to that,” Moody said.