Three new members of Statesboro City Council — the first women elected by districts to the council in its history — will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the City Hall council chambers at the start of their first official meeting.

They are Paulette Chavers of District 2, Venus Mack of District 3, and Shari Barr of District 5. Another woman who holds elected local office, Judge Lorna DeLoach of the Bulloch County Probate Court, is slated to administer the oath of office.

"I am just ecstatic and ready to start the year off, you know, being on council and making history," Mack said Monday. "There's a lot interesting things that have been going on, like the blight tax and certain things that I'm interested to dive in and get more information on, but as of right  now, I am just ready to be sworn in and to make history in Statesboro."

Immediately after the meeting, which the mayor and city manager hope to have last no longer than an hour, the city will host a public reception for the new council members in the Joe Brannen Hall at 50 East Main St., next door to City Hall.

All three councilwomen-elect have attended multiple council meetings since they won the elections in their districts that concluding Nov. 5. The also met leading city staff members in an orientation session at City Hall and are slated to tour other city facilities this week.

They outpolled and now replace outgoing councilmen Sam Jones of District 2, Jeff Yawn of District 3 and Derek Duke of District 5. The city hosted an appreciation reception for the outgoing members Dec. 17.

Two incumbent members, District 1 Councilman Phil Boyum and District 4 Councilman John Riggs, continue in office, now in the middle of four-year terms.

Issues of interest

Asked in phone interviews Monday what issues interest them as they arrive on the council, the three members-elect all mentioned one thing: the Community Redevelopment Tax Incentive Program.

Barr called it the community development program and said she was trying not to use the phrase "blight tax."

"My first effort has been just to collect information from other people because I don't have any deep background in it," she said. "My inclination is, I like the general idea but I'm concerned that the factors that have been on the table have been awfully high, awfully punitive. So I guess it remains to be seen what can be arrived at, or what can be agreed with."

Often called the "blight tax" ordinance because of its penalty phase, this city legislation takes a "carrot and stick" approach to compel cleanup of blighted properties, including abandoned buildings. It also features a reward phase, a three-year, 50% city property tax abatement for owners who bring their properties up to standards.

As initially approved by the council on a 5-0 vote Dec. 3, the penalty tax would have been seven times the current regular city millage rate, added atop the regular property tax. But Mayor Jonathan McCollar used his mayoral power of adjusting appropriations to reduce the penalty tax to 1% of the millage rate.

Subsequently, he sent council members a compromise proposal and had it placed on the Dec. 17 agenda. Then the council unanimously tabled reconsideration of the ordinance until the regular meeting Feb. 18.

That threw the question forward to the new council, but the topic obviously isn't planned for Tuesday's opening session.

Mack said the three women will each have their own opinion about the program and so may be able to find a fresh approach.

"We can maybe come up with some ideas to make everybody happy, because I know some people aren't pleased, so I think once we all together, put our heads together, I think as a team we'll be able to come up with a decision that's going to benefit the residents of Statesboro and the city," she said.

Chavers also mentioned the "blight tax," but first noted an issue she campaigned on.

"Well, I'm pretty much interested in what I've been interested in all along, the parks and recreation and what we can do as a city to get those up to par, and also, I don't know a whole lot about the blight tax, but that's one of the areas that I want to know more about and how it actually affects the citizens of Statesboro but specifically those that reside in District 2," she said.

Making history

Mack, Chavers and Barr will not be the first women to occupy the council dais. Elected city-wide, former Mayor Jan Moore, who served from January 2014 through December 2017, was Statesboro's first female mayor. But she served with only men representing districts on the council.

At the time of Moore's election and inauguration, local officials remembered no female council members. No one has ever come forward with any from historical records.

In separate phone conversations, the three members-elect all expressed a belief that their perspectives, as women, will make a difference.

"Yes, I think it is going to make a huge difference because you have a whole new perspective coming in, and I think that we as women, as part of the council, we can put our heads together and work together collectively to come up with reasonable solutions for the problems that the city may face," Chavers said.

"I think that as women we bring a special dynamic to the group, and sometimes we do have good ideas," Mack said. "So I think this gives the men something different to think about."

"I think that there needs to be a woman's voice at the table, and I'm pleased that there are going to be three women's voices at the table," Barr said.

More than gender

"Bringing some new ideas and new  voices to the table is always a good thing, and then I just feel honored to be a part of history, to be able to have the first women in the city to be elected in this role during my administration," McCollar said Monday.

He also made history when elected in the fall of 2017, becoming Statesboro's first African American mayor.

With the incoming councilwomen, the number of African Americans among the five district members is also increasing from one to two.

City Manager Charles W. Penny, employed by the mayor and council since July 1, is also African American. So, as the reporter noted to the mayor, when all are present in 2020, four of the officials on the front dais will be black and three white, including four men and three women.

"I think the council now actually reflects the city of Statesboro," McCollar said. "You know, the city of Statesboro is a very diverse city. So to have a council that reflects the city demographically and ideologically, I think it's well beyond time that we have a council that does so."

Herald reporter Al Hackle may be reached at (912) 489-9458.