A fee of $50 for Newton County’s convenience centers was close to being added to the tax bills of each property owner Wednesday when the motion received a first and a second by the Board of Commissioners (BOC) during a special called meeting Wednesday.

The BOC has been looking at ways to make up an almost $3 million budget shortfall, and Wednesday focused in on the county’s 11 convenience centers.

The $50 fee, proposed by District 1 Commissioner John Douglas, on 44,644 parcels would bring in $2,232,200.

After Douglas made the motion, District 5 Commissioner Levie Maddox made a second “to allow discussion” and the BOC proceeded to discuss various points of charging for the use of convenience centers. Much of that discussion was about imposing a $50 fee or tax on each resident, whether or not they owned several properties or lived in a municipality which charged for trash pickup.

That discussion and descent by some led Douglas to withdraw his motion.

The subject of convenience center fees, however, will be on the agenda for Tuesday’s BOC meeting, after another motion made by Douglas Wednesday.

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