One Candidate Qualifies For Milton Special Election

MILTON, GA — Only one person has qualified to fill a vacant seat on the Milton City Council in an upcoming election. The only resident to qualify is Carol E. Cookerly, the city said Friday.

Milton originally received three candidates who formally qualified for the seat: Cookerly, Thomas J. Upton and Marty Littleton. However, both Upton and Littleton have since informed Milton's city clerk that they will be withdrawing from the race, city spokesperson Shannon Ferguson said.

Cookerly is set to replace Bert Hewitt, the longtime City Councilman who resigned in April due to his move out of the city. The term for the seat will end Dec. 31, 2019. Qualifying for the seat was held Aug. 2-22, and those who wanted to formally enter the race had to pay a $390 qualifying fee.

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Milton's election will be held in conjunction with another special election to consider approving a new homestead exemption from the city's property taxes. If approved by voters on the Nov. 6 ballot, new homestead exemptions would freeze homeowners' tax assessments at the 2016 level. It would allow increases up to 3 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. The homestead exemptions would remain in place as long as homeowners own their homes. The more current assessment would take effect and become the new "frozen" level once a home is sold.

Similar measures will be on the ballot for voters in Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Mountain Park to consider.

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