Wednesday, September 4, 2002
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Wednesday, September 4, 2002 |
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Mayor: cut in LOST funds would hurt PTC 2003-04 budget significantly
By JOHN
MUNFORD
As if cutting nearly $2 million in projects from this year's budget wasn't bad enough, Peachtree City could take a $400,000 tax revenue reduction if Fayette County officials get their way. Fayette County has proposed a new formula for distributing the county's Local Option Sales Tax, otherwise known as LOST. On this occasion, LOST seems to be an appropriate term for the funds, Mayor Steve Brown joked last week. "If you don't laugh, you'd cry," Brown said, adding "it's a serious situation. ... It puts us in a very large bind." That bind could adversely affect the city's 2003-2004 budget, meaning the city may have to consider reducing service and staffing levels in addition to considering another property tax increase, Brown said. Currently, the county gets 47.5 percent of all LOST revenues while the remainder is divided between Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Tyrone and Brooks based on population figures. But now the county wants to bump its share up to 50 percent, which would cut into the cities' pie. LOST is the largest revenue source Peachtree City depends on, Brown noted. While county officials argue the unincorporated county is taking on a larger share of the county's population, Brown counters that the city "lost" its fair share of LOST funds since it couldn't reap the benefits of its dramatic growth since 1993. "As it was, the county received the bulk of the money from it," Brown said. "Peachtree City sacrificed during its key years of growth and I'd like to see the policy field leveled out a bit." Brown also said the county's request to increase its LOST revenues could possibly be linked to the commission's pre-election decision to roll back property taxes and stave off a property tax increase. If the city loses the $400,000 in LOST money, it would equal half of the proposed tax increase council plans for this budget year, Brown said. "No one can afford to make those adjustments," Brown said, noting that the city's ad valorem taxes are declining along with a "serious" decline in impact fees as the city's residential growth begins to dwindle. Brown said he would agree to the county's request to freeze the new LOST formula for 10 years if an appropriate formula can be agreed on. The LOST plan must be in place by Dec. 31 of this year or the tax subsides and none of the local governments will get LOST funding. Never mind that the Peachtree City and Tyrone councils are still litigating alleged tax inequities with the Fayette County Commission. Peachtree City and Tyrone claim their residents are overtaxed based on services the county doesn't provide to their residents because the city and town already provide those services. Brown guessed that the tax inequity and LOST issues might perhaps be solved at the same time during the negotiation process.
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