A staff proposal for golf carts to be registered every five years will be reconsidered by the Peachtree City Council at its Nov. 17 meeting.

A separate ordinance that would limit the physical modifications to golf carts is back in review by city staff and will not be considered by council in November so there is more time to gather information, said Deputy City Clerk Betsy Tyler.

At the Oct. 20 council meeting, a staff plan to charge $12 for each golf cart to be registered was tabled when council deadlocked 2-2. City staff are now reviewing a proposal from Councilman Steve Rapson that would cost current registered owners nothing except a trip to City Hall for a colored decal.

Council members Judi-Ann Rutherford and Stuart Kourajian questioned who was going to pay for the city’s costs of administering the program, estimated by City Clerk Jane Miller at $9 per decal or at least $70,000 for the first year just for the costs of the materials.

“Won’t we have a budget shortfall in five years?” Kourajian asked.

“We can budget for the shortfall,” Rapson said.
Rutherford and Kourajian voted for the staff proposal, while Rapson and Mayor Steve Brown voted against it. Councilman Murray Weed was absent.

Under Rapson’s plan:

• Currently registered cart owners could re-register at City Hall by Jan. 31, 2006, at no charge for a new decal.

• Currently unregistered cart owners would have until the same date to pay $12 for a decal.

• First-time owners would register and pay $12.

• Unregistered carts after the deadline would face a city fine of $50 plus the $12 decal fee.

• Every five years cart owners would have to renew their decals, but there would be no charge by the city.

“This type of approach would penalize those individuals who are not following the process versus everyone [else who follows the rules],” Rapson wrote. “If a resident follows this registration process, they do not have to pay anything ever again.

Staff writer John Munford contributed to this report.

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