LOCATION                  

North Central Georgia                 County Seat- Blue Ridge                                                                 

To/From Atlanta, GA: 90 miles, To/From Chattanooga, TN: 85 miles

TRANSPORTATION

Highways: Super-highway GA 515 / 575 to I-75, U.S. 76, GA 2, 5, 60, 60 spur

Rail: Georgia Northeastern

Air: Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport (95 miles), Blairsville Municipal Airport (20 miles), Martin Campbell Field -Copperhill, TN (10 miles)

Truck: Local Motor Freight Carriers

Population, 2006

22,319

Population, percent change, 1990 to 2000 (change from 4/200 - 7/2001)

23.8%   (4.4%)

Persons 18-24, percent 2000

7.0%

Persons 25-44, percent, 2000

24.9%

Persons 45-64, percent, 2000

28.2%

Per Capita Income, 2005

$23,846

Median Household Income, 1999

$30,612

LABOR PROFILE              

Fannin County Labor Force, 2000

9,329

Fannin Area Labor Force, 2002

69,291

Fannin Unemployment Rate, July 2003

5.9%

Fannin Annual Average Weekly Wage, 2001

$418

EDUCATION

5 County Public Schools 

Technical Colleges:

Appalachian Technical College (35 miles)

North Georgia Technical College (20 miles)

2-year, 4-year Colleges:

Toccoa Falls College, Fannin County

Young Harris College (40 miles)

North Georgia College & State University (50 miles)

HEALTHCARE

Fannin Regional Hospital: general medical/surgical 34-bed, acute care facility, including a five-bed intensive/coronary unit and new three-bed birthing center.

Blue Ridge Healthcare & Community Services: comprehensive healthcare providing nursing care, social services, dietary and ancillary services, and physical therapy.

RiverStone Medical Campus: new multi-specialty clinic featuring full-service pharmacy, laboratory, sleep disorder center, imaging center, oncology clinic, primary and specialty physicians.

Georgia Mountain Health: a full-service community medical clinic with board certified physicians offering family practice, internal medicine and radiology.

TRAINING

Georgia’s Quick Start Training Services

GA Department of Labor – Blue Ridge Field Service Office

UTILITIES

Electricity: Served from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s transmission system; distributed by Tri-State EMC and Blue Ridge Mountain EMC. Member of Georgia EMC. Power costs among the lowest in the Southeast.

Water: Plant capacity: 1,000,000 gal/day. Consumption: 300,000 gal/day. Ground storage capacity: 625,000 gal. Pumping capacity: 613 cu ft/sec average.

Sewage: Plant capacity: 1,000,000/day. Plant load: 300,000 gal/day average.

Telecommunications: Provided by TDS Telecom and BellSouth Communications

PUBLIC SERVICES

Fire Protection: 150 trained volunteer personnel; 14 fire stations; 6 rescue trucks, 7 tankers, 9 engines; fire insurance classification: 6 in city, 7/9 in county.

Emergency Medical Services: 3 24-hour staffed ambulances, 3 24/7 crews; Enhanced 911

Police Protection: 27 full-time county personnel; Blue Ridge police personnel, McCaysville police personnel.

Garbage: Service provided by private contractors.

Professional Engineer: Licensed engineer available on call.

Zoning: Blue Ridge has zoning ordinance; County has land use plan.

TAXES

Property: Effective tax rates per $1000 of property at its fair market value. This rate applies to all property: land, buildings, machinery, equipment, and inventory.

Millage rate  20.169 

Property Located 2001 Effective Rate

Within City    $10.32

Outside City  $  7.79

Inventory: Fannin County exempts 100% on all classes of certain business inventory from property taxation.

Sales: City and County have 3% local sales tax in addition to the 4% state sales tax.