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News | Peachtree City

PTC talks new SPLOST

Tue, 03/10/2009 - 5:00pm

By: John Munford

Council may seek vote extending road tax on this November’s ballot

Peachtree City officials are hoping to convince their counterparts in Fayette County to allow voters to consider an additional special purpose local option sales tax in November.

The current transportation SPLOST expires in March 2010, but without it the city faces finding other ways to fund transportation projects in an economic climate that has revenues on the decline.

Another plus for adopting a new SPLOST is that now state law allows the city to get a larger percentage of revenues should the cities be unable to successfully negotiate a funding formula with the county.

The law states when an impasse is reached that the funding formula should be based on population figures, which could net the city $7 million a year instead of the current $2 million it is receiving.

Since the current SPLOST was approved in 2004, the city has repaved more than 27 miles of city streets with full or partial SPLOST funding. The SPLOST has also helped fund 24 miles of reconstructed and widened cart paths, for a total of 28 percent of the 87-mile long system.

Under the new SPLOST law, governments can spend SPLOST money on maintenance projects instead of just capital improvements, officials said. It also allows funds to be spent on capital equipment such as fire trucks, ambulances, police cars and other heavy equipment, said City Finance Director Paul Salvatore.

City Attorney Ted Meeker added that SPLOST funds can also be used to pay off existing general obligation bond debt.

Potential city projects for a new SPLOST include:

• A cart path bridge over Ga. Highway 54 East between the Publix-anchored shopping center and Lexington Circle developments;

• A cart path bridge over Ga. Highway 74 North, perhaps near the World Airways office building;

• Development of an annual inspection and maintenance program for cart path bridges and tunnels;

• Intersection improvements at Crosstown Road and Peachtree Parkway; Hwy. 54 and Robinson Road; TDK Boulevard and Dividend Drive; Hwy. 54 and Commerce Drive; Hwy. 74 and South Kedron Drive and Georgian Park and Peachtree Parkway.

Meanwhile the city is trying to figure out how to prioritize its remaining transportation SPLOST funding in light of the sales tax shortfall.

The two cart path bridges are included in the current SPLOST but the funding could be delayed, freeing up $670,000 to replace the cart path bridge over Lake Peachtree with a wider structure.

City Manager Bernie McMullen said he wants to place a priority on street and cart path resurfacing with remaining SPLOST funds, meaning that the TDK/Dividend Drive project and the extension of the Park Place access road could be delayed to free up about $305,000 for street resurfacing.

Council also discussed the possibility of raising the hotel-motel tax from 6 to 8 percent, an action that would take approval of the state legislature.

It was also noted that the city would need to meet with hotel and motel operators to get their input on the projects funded by the additional money. The additional funding would have to be used for capital projects for tourism development, officials said.

It is too late in this legislative session for such a bill to be introduced on behalf of the city, officials said.

SPLOST Reconsidered

Submitted by PTC Observer on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 9:06pm.

I think we should consider this question as soon as they complete the golf cart bridge over the railroad tracks at BestBuy. That way we won't have to ever consider it.

HELL NO to SPLOST !!!!!!!!

Submitted by h2otom on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 5:42pm.

You fools have taxed us enough, stop spending money you don't have.
City Council members,give back the pay you voted for yourselves,and the 100% pay raise. Do the right thing. Politics in this town make me ill, developers have politicians in there back pockets, while politicians are taking (taxing) money out of our,the tax payers, pockets.
Can the fireworks this year, no money, tennis center,sell it,back to bare bones,if you don't have the money,don't spend like you do.
I voted NO on the last SPLOST, and will do so on this one......What a mess the people that are running this city have gotten us into,,shame on all of you,,,,,,,

Don't think so!!!

Submitted by ptcmom678 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 4:58pm.

Are they out of their frigging minds??? I'd suggest the council let the economy settle down before proposing ANYTHING that would take more money out of people's pockets.

I have never missed an election. I vote no

Submitted by ManofGreatLogic on Sat, 03/14/2009 - 3:18pm.

I haven't ever missed an election in my life.

I'll vote no on this new SPLOST. I voted yes on the last one.

Mistake.

Read my lips: No new taxes.

We are taxed well enough!

Submitted by scribbler on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 2:40pm.

We are taxed quite well enough at all levels of "government", thank you....

Until I see the City of Peachtree City make a line-by-line budget review-- and then show the courage to make the necessary cuts;

1) Wherever wasteful or redundant spending is discovered,

2) Non-substantial/marginally effective social programs & services, and...

3) The hidden or unintended costs incurred by the plethora of pithy "nanny-state" ordinances passed for the sake of political correctness -- much more than providing any bona fide benefits to the citizenry

Please give us some semblance of efficiency...

You know --- Bang-For-The-Buck...
Before you ask for more bucks...

We the people... who pay the bills...
Are watching with keen interest.

Indeed we are taxed well enough -- and it is about to get a LOT WORSE at the federal level... just my humble...

Councilman Haddix -- Thanks for your service to the city.

Haddix: Comment

Submitted by Don Haddix on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 10:30am.

As you may, or may not know, SPLOST is dispersed between the cities and the County. Each has their own plan and uses for their share.

Do I like how many things have been done over the years by Council? No, and is one reason I ran in 2007.

First year I lived here, 1987, in example, I collided several time with City Hall over signing off on incomplete developer installations. Issues that have been perpetual ever since and am now, again, facing on Council and trying to still resolve.

With that said, I am looking for honest input here as regards looking to the future after this election changes Council and if I am still on Council where to 2 of the 3-2 move into the majority.

No SPLOST will shut down golf cart and a lot of road maintenance and improvements. Also a few other things people have been wanting.

It also means the increased share, about 15% more, that PTC would have received, will go away as well.

So, work that cannot be deferred will come out of other budgets. For me, that means Rec.

About the only area we have left that will give any significant contribution to budget reductions is Rec, where I have been pushing, especially on the Fred, Tennis Center and Kedron Pool, since I have been on Council. The amount of wasted money from those three has been inexcusable to me.

There should be no reason we cannot have these facilities at a much lower cost than they are now. Those putting in proposals say they can even deliver more services.

I will not vote for across the board pay cuts. We are looking at a tax increase of .25 to .50, probably about .325.

Fire and Police have been cut as much as they can be cut. Public Works has little to nothing left to contribute.

There are some other reductions on the table, but not enough to avoid tax increases.

So, is SPLOST a good or bad thing for PTC? Just asking for thoughts and ideas.

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

It's a good thing for PTC...

Submitted by Spyglass on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 12:31pm.

if it does nothing else but keep the cart paths up. With the Avenue, Home Depot etc. in PTC, I would venture that we get more in benefits than we as citizens of PTC spend.

VOTE NO

Submitted by JAFO 72 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 11:41am.

Mr. Haddix,

I voted for the original SPLOST when it was under the guise of being used for new cart paths, improvements of existing cart paths, and road maintenance/extensions. The improvements have been minimal, other than the widening of HWY74. Have the bureaucrats forgotten the LOCAL OPTION portion of this acronym? Is HWY 74 not a Georgia State highway? Shouldn't the GDOT provide funding for the widening?

I can't say that I would be willing to vote yes on this measure, unless there were stipulations that these funds would only be used for PTC roads and paths exclusively. My property taxes are high enough that I don't need another tax levied upon me. I echo S.Lindsey's posts regarding how much we pay already.

VOTE NO.

“Ignorance can be fixed. Stupidity is forever”

Vote No

Submitted by Gene61 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 12:59pm.

Raising taxes in this enviroment is only going to further burdern the taxpyar who is already paying more than his fair share. Until the nation, the state and local commuities see JOB GROWTH, this no time to look to raise more taxes off the backs of the working men and women of Fayette County.

the problem was all the tax breaks in good times the counties gave to business to move in, now we're seeing that lost revenue come home to roost. Want to save money, stop widing carth paths and slow the growth of all projects that don't effect public safety. Where is the GDOT in all of this?

Haddix: Jafo

Submitted by Don Haddix on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 12:22pm.

First, 74 is a paid for by GDOT, not PTC. We only pay for any item that is an add at our request for our benefit, several of which were absorbed into the GDOT funding.

The improvements have been many. Miles of paths have been repaved and widened. Many miles. Paths have been added.

We had to back off of some adds because the economy caused a lot fewer dollars to come in than expected.

The PTC SPLOST dollars are only spent on PTC and are only spent on the projects voted for approval by the voters. We cannot do otherwise. None can be transferred to any other use. SPLOST dollars are tracked separately from all other funds.

Please go HERE and download the Retreat Packet before the page is updated for the next Council Meeting. There is a lot of data, even pictures, covering your concerns.

Maybe some clarifications here would help.

LOST is County wide and distributed by formula, including the State portion. We would be better off with Point of Sales Collections.

SPLOST is for legally designated uses, within the County, distributed by formula to cities and the County that cannot be deviated from. Each has its own mandatory distribution and use. County does not control any monies but their portion thereof.

MOST is the MuncipalOST, meaning only for PTC, in example, and only collected in PTC.

Under the new law a SPLOST would give us a minimum of 34.86%, I believe the exact number is, of the total collected to be used according to the plan we submit and you would vote upon. Locked in when approved. No changing it. About 15% more than last time, meaning the County portion would decrease since the law was changed because under the old way Counties were forcing cities to give them an extra amount or get no SPLOST at all.

Not talking adding another tax, but continuing one.

Problem is killing the SPLOST does not negate the need for budget funding and would require a higher property tax or shutting down some Rec if things got bad enough.

City incomes are really being squeezed by restrictive actions and cut backs at Federal and State levels. They act like leaving mandates in place on cities and counties while cutting funding shows how fiscally and otherwise responsible they are being. In truth it is shoving the total expense down on counties and cities leaving us to have to keep paying for things while facing the Citizens.

Without a doubt, we have no room for frivolous spending. But infrastructure is something we cannot disregard, as was done for many years to focus on Rec at any cost.

How this whole SPLOST issue proceeds will have a lot of impact on what the next Council is going to have to do as budget issues arise and we see the economy proceed.

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

Worst Nightmare!

Submitted by Okie on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 8:03am.

I wish the first SPLOST had never been approved. Last night we learned that your property can be condemned and taken before they even get permits for the roads they want to build. Then you've lost your land. We had people from the Westbridge Road area at our meeting last night. They don't want traffic to be dumped into their neighborhoods either.
I can't believe you all are only getting 6 percent tax on hotel and motel. We stayed in Ft. Payne, Alabama the other night and paid around 10 percent tax.

No new SPLOST

Submitted by Gene61 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 3:00am.

So exactly does PTC's counter parts in Fayetteville get? So we're counter parts, okay. Why don't you simply postpone the widing of cart path bridges and use themoney to fund more important items of the budget?

Conunter parts in Fayette County, odd, thought we all were in Fayette County. The more I read about how PTS conducts business, the more I wonder when will they stop looking to tax us to death in a SLOW economy! I have an idea, a toll booth on the cart paths! IT's a winner!

Haddix: WD3246

Submitted by Don Haddix on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 10:32am.

SPLOST money can only be used for the purposes proposed and approved by the vote.

So, no, it cannot be moved to non SPLOST items.

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

Haddix..a question for you

Submitted by Main Stream on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 11:00am.

Don, these look like "shovel ready" transportation projects, if I'm not mistaken. If so, why didn't Fayette County request funding from the federal stimulus money for these projects, like so many other counties around the the country did for their own communities?

Haddix: Main Stream

Submitted by Don Haddix on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 11:42am.

Such as the West By-Pass are County projects. Money is in the bank. They have to spend it or return it.

For us, PTC would have to apply. Like so many aspects of the Stimulus Package there are strings.

Once the 3 years, I believe it is, runs out, all the costs fall on us. Plus there are also strings mandating continued project funding and such, whether we want to or not.

Example being the unemployment to the State. State has to add p/t employees and continue the benefits at prescribed levels on an ongoing basis thereafter. Long term cost exceeds short term gain.

But if we find any that are good for us, we will apply. We are constantly looking for grant and such all the time.

Being ranked a 'Well Heeled' community kills most grant eligibility for us.

Add to that many grants we use to be able to get no longer exist. We are even having some pulled after being granted.

GDOT has dumped some major costs back into our laps already, in example.

So, what some perceive as Council and Staff taking on spending or bad execution is actually loss of such monies, thus forcing us to either stop performing or adding taxes.

The loss of LOST and other basic incomes is hurting us too much as it is.

Don Haddix
PTC Councilman
Post 1
donhaddix.com

No New Splost

Submitted by Arf on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 9:47pm.

PTC's already wasted enough money messing up the roads and cart paths(like Hwy 54 from the Wyndham to Sharpsburg, the horrible scenery block along Hwy 74 going south-complete with sidewalks no less, the golf cart bridge and tunnel to nowhere, the major golf cart artery going right through neighborhood yards, and more red lights than Amsterdam). We don't need more road improvement, we don't need more traffic lights, we don't need more DOT and we don't need more golf cart paths that can't be patrolled. What we need is fewer people coming to town for no good reason and crowding up everything.

All costs have been going up, many, many people are unemployed or enduring salary cuts, benefit cuts, and locally we've wasted taxpayer money on everything from moldy Police Station buildings to empty schools. How can anyone justify all the waste, the layoffs and the ruination of this community and then expect us to pay more for more of the same. No Splost - ever again.

Maybe we should shut it down....

Submitted by opustv on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 9:26pm.

For a year lets eliminate all but essential services, Fire, Police, Sewer. Dump Engineering, Code Enforcement, HR, IT, the mayor & city counsel, the Library, Parks and Rec, Finance, Planning...even let the county run the courts and Public Works can be contracted out. Basically shut down City Hall. Bare bones for a year. Then take the revenue and only add back what we can afford in year two. I have had to cut my family spending back to bare essentials to live within the new budget realities...time for government to do the same.

Stupid People Love Optional Sales Taxes...

Submitted by mysteryman on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 8:57pm.

And thats all i got to say about that............PEACE

Stupid People Love Optional Sales Taxes !

Submitted by turtlejack on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 1:01pm.

I LOVE it!! These are the same folks in Fayette County that bought into a SPLOST that ultimately led to construction of the "Bypass to Nowhere". Remember - When in doubt..raise taxes! It's all part of the change we can believe in Kool Aid crowd!

This is a great way to help and encourage local business

Submitted by mudcat on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 7:11am.

Let's see if I got this right. We have a group on council who agonizes over vacant spaces in our shopping centers and even has a promotion to shop locally in order to help the local merchants.

So now that they need money to cover up their own lack of planning, they want to impose a local sales tax? A local sales tax that shoppers can avoid by going to Newnan? Are you people nuts? More importantly are we the voters nuts? Thank God it has to be put up for a vote. What idiots we have in leadership positions.

Read my lips - No new taxes - we are in a recession.

Anybody who votes for this is a.....

Submitted by mysteryman on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 8:54pm.

.............You fill in the blank.... Are they kidding, in this time of crisis they actually expect people to vote for an optional tax????
Oh yeah i fogot we are talking about P.T.C.. BLESS

for those of us who have lost jobs and seen taxes

Submitted by jackyldo on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 9:34am.

increase on our property -- this is DOA Dad on Arrival..

I see the list of intersection improvements TDK, Cross town and the Parkway ---- hmm me thinks we'll be seeing a nice road connecting Coweta County at Lake McIntosh - through TDK and Cross town out to 54 ,, not a nice road (country wise) but another 54 bi-secting the city with traffic and lights..

These guys are too shrewd for their own good...

More Stinking Taxes!!! Thank You Mayor!!!

Submitted by Spear Road Guy on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 8:22pm.

For a guy who told us he'd cut our taxes, he's sure doing a bad job. How low can our mayor go???

Many of us retired folks are going to sink under the weight of all these new taxes!

Vote Republican

No taxes needed

Submitted by TinCan on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 2:05pm.

With my trip south on 74, around 11:30 this morning, from 54 to Crosstown I realized we may be able to cut taxes if PTCPD sets up a permanent radar in that area. I set my cruise on 45MPH and damned near got run over several times. And I don't mean barely overtaken. No need to worry about the 10MPH leeway on radar either. A couple of the cars that passed me just past Kelley Dr. were almost out of sight by the time I crested the rise below Gilroys.

Valentine One

Submitted by JAFO 72 on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 2:26pm.

That's why I have a V1 radar detector. It actually points out where the "bogeys" are. They really do need to change the speed limit from 45 to 55 mph.

“Ignorance can be fixed. Stupidity is forever”

Now I believe your tagline

Submitted by TinCan on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 3:21pm.

Yeah, maybe 65 would be good for a road with a bunch of cross streets and prone to U-turns. Haven't made a trip on that stretch yet without observing at least 1 U-turn.

SpearRoad dude...

Submitted by Main Stream on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 11:07pm.

"For a guy who told us he'd cut our taxes, he's sure doing a bad job."

"Vote Republican"

Gee whiz... you might want to rethink your signature line cuz you're doing a superb job of contradicting yourself with most every post. Shocked

Spear.. Taxes are the chains

Submitted by S. Lindsey on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 8:52pm.

that bind us.. They control the wealth.. You ever think what you could do if you took home that pesky little amount that is BEFORE TAXES.. But oh no.. the Goverment will never allow that.. It is the base of their power.. It makes me sick to think about how much of my dollar is really mine.. after Federal, State, County and City Taxes, Sales Taxes, Gas Taxes, Property Taxes, et all.. There is nothing left that is mine.. maybe pennies on the dollar at best..
TAX CHEATS RUNNING THE IRS.. who woulda ever thunk it..

I will not lower my standards.. So UP YOURS.. Evil

GUN CONTROL Link

S. Lindsey, I don't

Submitted by FayetteFlyer on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 3:20pm.

agree with you on a lot of things, but on this we are in full agreement! Where would this country be if the Fed and its taxation entities were all removed as was originally stated in the Constitution? Ah, to dream!

Big butt but nothing else is big

Submitted by ManofGreatLogic on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 6:06pm.

The guy who constantly has the line "vote Republican" likes the 90s picture of some big-butted, flat-chested young lady standing on a cat or something, saying "vote Republican."

But, of course, he spends all his time complaining about the very same Republicans he elected.

Most Fayette County citizens would vote Republican no matter who it was. If, for instance, satan was running as a Republican and Jesus was running as a Democrat, and God our Father was running as a Libertarian, they would say God was crazy, Jesus was evil, and then they'd vote for the Satan.

This is no exaggeration.

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