Council Changes Highlight 2011 in Government

Some of the biggest headlines from our coverage of local governments involved the people chosen to run them. Here are our choices for the five top government stories of the year, in no particular order. 

The Paulding County Board of Commissioners . Though the budget featured no millage increase, county residents saw an increase in the number of employee furlough days—resulting in the closure of county offices on those days—reductions in county library staff and hours of operation, cuts to Paulding County Animal Control’s shelter hours of operations and more.

More than 55 percent of Hiram residents who took part in the Nov. 8 elections . The will of the voters took effect earlier this month after the Hiram City .

Carmen Rollins in June announced that effective July 1. Mayor Pro Tem Jack Paris and went on to win his own term in the office .

Rollins’ husband, Prather "Pep" Rollins, will begin next month a term in the Hiram City Council Post 1 seat . In Hiram's Post 2 council race, Kathy Bookout unseated incumbent Helena Williams after taking 73 percent of the vote.

Dallas' mayor of 16 years will serve four more, as Boyd Austin Jr. by earning 439 votes to Tingler's 368, or 54.3 to 45.5 percent of the votes cast, in the Nov. 8 elections. The Dallas elections also saw Jim Henson edging out Brian Ragsdale , while incumbents Mike Cason and James Kelly won their Ward 2 and at large council seats, respectively.

In the month prior to municipal elections, officials with the city of Dallas , who had served on the council for nearly 22 years. The council earlier this month appointed Carter’s son, Chris, , marking the third generation of the Carter family to serve the city. The late Clarence D. “Buck” Carter also was as a city councilman, having served in the 1960s.