Wednesday, November 13, 2002

I believe that there is a surplus of employees in the Peachtree City government. How else would employees have the time to think up so many ways to impinge more government regulations on citizens of Peachtree City, which probably is already one of the most regulated communities in the state?

The newest brainstorm to be presented to the City Council is to require the citizens of Peachtree City, those who own their homes, to prepare a dossier to prospective buyers, who are probably not citizens of our fair city, containing information of the limitations for development, redevelopment and expansions of the property, setbacks, easement and any restrictive covenants.

In other words, put upon the citizen seller the obligation to employ some lawyer to research all of the council minutes and orders concerning his particular property, the developer's obligations to zoning, council's limitations and intentions for future development, and any covenants which may include the seller's property.

I should also suggest that the employees who have so much time to think up new regulations are not needed to do the enforcement of all of the regulations now in place for which they were employed.

Since time immemorial, there has been the practice of requiring purchasers to be aware of what they are buying. If council passes this proposal furnished by employees, the result will be the imposition of one more opening for lawsuits against Peachtree City property owners whereby some lawyers will find some little requirement that was omitted.

There will have to be an increase in the purchase price to allow the citizen of Peachtree City to purchase his own liability policy, and for the research aforesaid. The purchaser's title insurer will have to pay an increase in title insurance, because the title insurer will have one more item to check at every closing.

The reason I believe that surplus employees are the instigators of this "make more laws" concept is because I am sure our mayor and council members would not think up or care to just exercise their power to pass more laws such as this against their citizens.

William H. Cooper, Jr.

Peachtree City