Georgia Rimes, 911 Director
E-911 is responsible for answering both emergency and non-emergency calls for service. The Communications Officer assigned to this area also dispatch Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Units. Due to the nature of the job, the center is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
Need to get in touch with someone in Administration?
Cindi Dunlap, Elections Supervisor & Chief Registrar
May 21, 2024 Elections Notices
The Board of Elections provides the following services for Ben Hill County Residents
The Board of Elections registers all eligible citizens to vote, provides free voter IDs, and maintains districting maps for Ben Hill County and the City of Fitzgerald. We also conduct all Federal, State, and County-wide elections, maintain election results and uphold election laws regarding registration and voting.
To register to vote you must:
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Be a legal resident of the Ben Hill County
- Be at least 17 1/2 years of age to register and 18 years of age to vote
- Not be serving a sentence for conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude
- Have not been found mentally incompetent by a judge
Any registered VOTER with questions regarding their provisional ballots may contact your local elections office. You may also contact the Georgia Secretary of State's Office at 1-844-537-5375.
You can access Election forms here: Election Forms
How-to Guide: Registering to Vote
To Check Your Provisional status:
Email: Elections@benhillcounty-ga.gov
Fax Number is (229)-922-0314
Toll Free Number is (888) 423-0314
The Ben Hill County Board of Elections will hold their monthly meetings at 10:00 am every 2nd Tuesday of the Month until further notice. The meeting will be held at:
602 S. Grant Street
Fitzgerald, GA 31750
Need to get in touch with someone in the Election's office?
Jake Hughes, EMA Director
The Ben Hill County EMA's purpose is to increase the resiliency and its ability to respond and recover from the hazards that threaten our community. This is done through mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, which is a combined effort with EMS, E-911, Police and Sheriff's Departments, Fire Department, and the Volunteer Fire Department.
What is Emergency Management?
The Emergency Management network is a combination of your local, state, and federal governments working together in partnership with local volunteers and businesses, to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from all hazards that affect a jurisdiction. The Ben Hill County Emergency Management Agency is the local agency with the responsibility for coordination and mitigation, preparedness, and response and recovery efforts to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Ben Hill County. Many natural hazards may impact the communities in Ben Hill County.
These include tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, lightning, floods, winter storms, and wildfires. These are dangerous and often unpredictable events. It is very important that citizens know the safety precautions to take before an emergency and what actions to take during an emergency, whether natural or caused by man. In addition to the many natural hazards that may impact the county, other man-made and technological hazards pose an equal, if not greater, threat to the citizens.
Need to get in touch with someone in the EMA's office?
What is UGA Extension?
We deliver lifelong learning across the state through science-based programs in agriculture and the environment, family well-being and 4-H youth development. We are a collaborative between Georgia county governments, the USDA and the University of Georgia's colleges of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences and Family & Consumer Sciences.
The Ben Hill County Cooperative Extension Office extends lifelong learning to Georgia citizens through unbiased, research-based education.
Some of our services include:
- Soil Tests & Water Tests
- Researched-Based Advice for Production Crops
- 4-H Summer Camps
- 4-H Competitive Events
Need to get in touch with someone in the Extension Service's office?
Chris Naylor, RN- County Nurse Manager
The Ben Hill County Health Department serves the entire population in the county. Our services are available to everyone regardless of age, race, religion, national origin, political belief, disability or sex. We charge only minimal fees for our services, and some services have adjusted fee scales based on ability to pay. Health care services will be provided even if someone is unable to pay. Medicaid and Medicare are also accepted forms of payment.
Provided Services
Our services are available to everyone, regardless of age, race, religion, national origin, political belief, disability, or sex. We charge only minimal fees for our services, and some services have adjusted fee scales based on ability to pay. Health care services will be provided even if someone is unable to pay. Medicaid and Medicare are also accepted forms of payment for covered services.
Environmental Services
Health Education
Family Planning Services
General Nursing
Immunizations
Infectious Disease Program
School Health
Sexually Transmitted Disease
Sickle Cell Screening and Counseling
Community Health Planning
Prenatal Planner
Travel Immunizations
Sweet Dreams
Breast & Cervical Cancer Program
Children with Special Needs
Health Check
Prenatal Programs
Need to get in touch with someone in the Health Department's office?
The Honorable Lisa McCard, Chief Magistrate Judge
Order for In Person Proceedings During Pandemic
The Magistrate Court provides the following services for Ben Hill County:
- Issue and conduct civil claims
- Issue garnishments
- Writs
- Dispossessory
- Foreclosures
- Issue subpoenas
- Issue post judgment interrogatories
- Enforce county ordinances
- Perform marriages
- Issue search warrants
- Issue civil judgments
- Issue almost all criminal warrants
- Setup pre-warrant application hearings
- Issue bad check warrants (deposit account fraud)
- Hold bond hearings (set the amount of bond)
- Issue conditions orders on family violence warrants
- Execute and accept written waivers of extradition
- Can issue contempt orders
- Issue bench warrants
The monetary limit of the Magistrate Court is $15,000.
To Access eFile for Ben Hill County Magistrate Court Click Here
Need to get in touch with someone in the Magistrate Court's office?
The Honorable Melinda Marsh Stembridge, Probate Judge
The Probate Court provides the following services for Ben Hill County Residents
- Probate of Wills and Related Matters
- Appointment of Administrators and Related Matters
- Appointment of Guardianships and Conservatorships for Incapacitated Adults
- Appointment of Temporary Guardians for Minors
- Issue Marriage Licenses and Perform Marriage Ceremonies
- Issue Firearm Licenses
- Issue Certified Copies of Death Certificates
- Issue Certified Copies of Birth Certificates
- Issue Certified Copies of Marriage Certificates
- Handle Traffic Citations by the Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia State Patrol
- Handle Citations by the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Public Safety
- Hold Court for Traffic and DNR Citations
Need to get in touch with someone in the Probate Court's office?
Ben Hill Transit
Current Transit System Description
Reasonable Accommodation Statement-English
Reasonable Accommodation Statement-Spanish
Ben Hill County ADA/Title VI Complaint Form-English and Spanish
The Ben Hill Transit System's current and long-term focus as a transportation provider is on maintaining the best coordinated transportation system possible for this community. Our goal is to create a coordinated system with the objective of providing safe, reliable, timely and efficient transportation services to county residents; fully compliant with regulatory requirements; at a minimum cost to the County and its citizen.
- The point-to-point service requires a 24-hour advance reservation; and a return trip can be reserved at the same time. Call 229-426-RIDE (7433) for reservations.
- The cost for a one-way trip is $3.00 cash. Please try to have exact change. Credit or Debit cards are not accepted. The driver has a Passenger Log and records who rides the van when the fare is paid.
- Ben Hill Transit System Vans carry 12 passengers and are equipped with a wheelchair lift. The service is curb to curb, and the van will wait no longer than 5-minutes if the passenger is not present.
- Smoking, alcoholic beverages, or illegal drugs are not allowed on the vans. No eating, drinking or open food containers are allowed.
- Adults must accompany children under 12, and children under 4 must be in a car seat. All passengers must be seated and wear seat belts while the van is in operation.
The Ben Hill Transit System also provides contract shuttle service to and from Senior Centers, nursing homes, health care facilities, hospitals, and doctor’s offices; as well as for shopping and excursions. Businesses interested in providing contract shuttle service for their employees going to and from their workplace should call (229) 732-2291. Purchase of service contracts are negotiated on an individual basis.
Questions:
Michael Erwin, RMS General Manager, (229) 732-2291
The Ben Hill County Transit System's current and long-term focus as a transportation provider is on maintaining the best-coordinated transportation system possible for this community. Our goal is to create a coordinated system with the objective of providing safe, reliable, timely and efficient transportation services to county residents; fully compliant with regulatory requirements; at the minimum cost to the County and its citizens.
The Ben Hill Transit System operates its programs and services without regard to race, color, and national origin in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Any person who believes she or he has been aggrieved by any unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI may file a complaint with The Ben Hill Transit System.
For more information on The Ben Hill Transit System’s civil rights program, and the procedures to file a complaint, contact:
(TTY 866-694-5824)
Or visit our administrative office at:
Fitzgerald, GA 31750
If information is needed in another language, contact (229) 426-5100.
You may also file your complaint directly with the FTA at:
Attention: Title VI Program Coordinator
East Building,5th Floor - TCR
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20590
La sistema de tránsito de Ben Hill opera sus programas y servicios, sin distinción de raza, color y origen nacional, de conformidad con el Título VI del Acta de Derechos Civiles. Cualquier persona que cree que él o ella ha sido agraviada por cualquier práctica discriminatoria ilegal bajo el Título VI, puede presentar una queja con el sistema de transporte Ben Hill.
Para obtener más información sobre la programa de derechos civiles de La sistema de tránsito de Ben Hill, y los procedimientos para presentar una queja, contacte a:
(TTY 866-694-5824)
O visite nuestra oficina administrativa en:
Fitzgerald, GA 31750
Si se necesita información en otro idioma, el contacto (229) 426-5100.
También puede presentar su queja directamente con el FTA en:
Atención: Coordinador de Programa del Título VI,
East Building,5th Floor - TCR
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20590
Need to get in touch with someone in the Public Transit System's office?
Tim Kegebein, Road Superintendent
Darryl Davis, Office Manager & Safety Coordinator
The Road Department provides the following services for Ben Hill County Residents
- Maintain county roads: paving, patching, scraping, sanding and bridge repair.
- Maintain county right of ways: mowing, cut bushes, clearing and ditching.
- Install: driveways, cross drains, haul dirt for driveways & collect payments for driveways
- Unstop pipes and drains
- Remove storm debris
- Create and maintain road signs
- Maintain county vehicles and equipment
Remember to use caution at Rail Road Crossings / STOP, LOOK & LISTEN! Always slow down & use head lights when rain & fog is present, vehicles can hydroplane when water is on the road.
Dirt roads should be traveled with caution because of washouts and slick conditions at a speed of no more than 35 mph or less when conditions are bad. Traffic should always slow down and use caution when Road Department Employees and equipment are on the road for paved and dirt roads alike.
Need to get in touch with someone in the Road Department's office?
Cathy Posey, Senior Center Director
The Senior Citizen's Center provides the following services to Ben Hill County Residents
- Coordinate and provide senior activities and services
- Host meetings of AARP, Retired Teachers, Garden Clubs, Bridge Groups, Class Reunions, Senior Singles Dance
- Periodic health screenings
- Hearing Aid Services
- Health fairs
Activities offered at the Senior Citizen's center include:
- Quilting
- Bingo
- Fish Fries
- Bridge Classes
- Computers and the Internet