Wednesday, June 18, 2003

To be sure, these are trying financial times for Peachtree City. Like many businesses in the private sector, revenues are down and expenses are up. What a private enterprise cannot do, of course, is simply turn the revenue spigot on at will. A municipality can do exactly that by simply raising taxes.

At last year's budget hearings, city staff actually proposed a 35 percent tax increase. I don't care if your taxes were to go from $10 a year to $13.50 a year, that percentage was completely unacceptable to me. It appeared that council might settle on a 15 percent increase instead, but at my urging, we compromised with a single digit increase, although it was a hefty 9 percent.

This year, gloom and doom seems to be pervading some who look closely at these matters. I don't know yet what percentage millage increase is going to be proposed by city staff, but what I do know is that I will not support another tax increase.

I have already asked city staff to have a proposal prepared that has a zero percent increase in the millage rate come budget time, yet one that does not cut public safety budgets (police and fire). This definitely means that there has to be a somewhat diminished level of service, but it also means that you won't take it on the chin year after year.

When times get tough, you have to make choices, and times are tough. It is unfair and unrealistic to simply hit the taxpayer up again and again. Rather, we must do what we do in the private sector, and that is tighten our belt come crunch time.

As an example, I would be in favor of cutting code enforcement from four full-time employees to two. I like the idea of keeping Peachtree City beautiful as much as the next guy, but I do not like the idea of harassing homeowners and business owners with nitpicking and sometimes unreasonable fines and complaints. You would not believe some of the stories I have heard.

That's just one small example of doing what it takes to "lower service" and keeping your taxes steady. I am the only announced candidate for this fall's city council election, and am willing to hold the line on taxes. That does not mean your taxes won't go up, because I am only one of five votes. But you have a no-new-taxes pledge from this corner.

Dan Tennant

Mayor Pro Tem

dtennant@peachtree-city.org