On behalf of the 500-plus members of the Fayette County Board of Realtors, I would like to thank the Fayette County Board of Commissioners for continuing its financial support of the Fayette County Development Authority.

Much of the exceptional quality of life we enjoy in Fayette County is directly attributable to the initiatives of the Fayette County Development Authority. The systematic creation of career opportunities which pay above minimum wage allow our citizens to work and reinvest in our community. Time not spent commuting to Atlanta and elsewhere is often redirected to volunteerism working with church, civic, school and social organizations that benefit us all.

And, there are other benefits related to consistent quality growth: 1) expansion of our tax base, a way to keep residential property taxes from skyrocketing; 2) the luxury of planned infrastructure improvements that support a controlled growth policy; and 3) ancillary developments such as improvements to the service and retail sectors of our economy.

Without a fully funded and supported county-wide development authority, Fayette County's municipalities will be forced to create their own economic development mechanisms. Local governments will be required to establish economic development departments within their own jurisdictions, an unnecessary duplication of effort and expense. Municipalities will also be put in the position of competing with each other for quality investment rather than working together for the overall betterment of the county.

One of the reasons Fayette County enjoys such an exceptional quality of life rests with the vision our elected officials had in creating the Fayette County Development Authority. The creation of a professional economic development arm of county government has allowed elected officials to plan for, and develop, infrastructure improvements compatible and consistent with the county's overall growth plan.

We have not been sucked into the trap that other metro Atlanta communities have been responding to the inevitable growth that is coming rather than planning for it.

We must continue to use all the tools available (e.g., coordinated and focused recruitment initiatives, revenue bonds, etc.) to recruit the types of industries that will help Fayette County maintain its quality of life five, 10 and 15 years from now.

We applaud the Fayette County Board of Commissioners for their continued support of a viable and professional and well-respected development authority.