Wednesday, January 31, 2001
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Wednesday, January 31, 2001 |
| Say no to hidden
tax increases through fee hikes from ARC, GRTA boards
The Georgia General Assembly has complete control over the funding the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) through Georgia Code Section 50-8-101. Any increase in funding requires "positive action" by the Georgia General Assembly. The current funding method in the aforementioned code dictates that all metro counties within the ARC (including Fayette County) that do not have the city of Atlanta within its boundaries must pay 80 cents per capita. Atlanta must pay 48 cents per capita and the counties with Atlanta in their boundaries pay 32 cents per capita. Payments based upon this formulation are made annually. The ARC is asserting that they have been "without an increase in local dues since 1990" (Resolution by the ARC in Support of Legislation to Increase Local Dues). However, the fact remains that the ARC's funding has increased as the population of the metro counties has ballooned. The ARC hands out small allotments for design initiative projects but the funding for major projects come from the state, GDOT, counties and municipalities. In other words, the ARC over the past decades has taken on mainly an administrative role rather than one of contributing financially to the actual projects. ARC's recommended amendment to OCGA 50-8-101 asks "the General Assembly to increase dues by $0.20 per capita effective Jan. 1, 2002. In addition, it is recommended that the amendment include a provision for a stepped increase in future dues based upon increases in the Consumer Price Index." This recommendation gives the ARC the sole authority to increase dues (year 2003 and beyond) without the approval of the Georgia General Assembly and it creates another source of taxation in our state. This proposition distresses me for several reasons. First, permitting more entities to tax the citizens means the less chance we have of actually decreasing our taxes in the future. Second, what major benefits has the ARC provided to merit assigning them more funding? Upon stepping down after 27 years as the ARC chief, Harry West said, "We have all these groups going in different directions. If we're going to accomplish anything, it's time to put our personal preferences aside and do what benefits the majority [of the metro counties]" (AJC, March 31, 2000). Mr. West also lectured the 39-member ARC board, "telling them if they cannot put the best interests of the region above those of their individual counties, 'maybe you need to move out of the way and let somebody else do it.'" Should destructive infighting be rewarded with a fee increase? At the Jan. 25 Fayette County Commission meeting (open agenda section), the commissioners expressed their disapproval of the ARC increases. One commissioner stated that the dues should be lowered by 10 cents annually instead of calling for an increase. The consensus opinion amongst the commissioners is that we are getting very little bang for the buck with the ARC. Unfortunately, Peachtree City's mayor supports the dues increase (Mayor Bob Lenox represents the citizens of Peachtree City, Fayetteville and Tyrone at the ARC). Third, we are paying for duplicate services. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) has usurped most of the ARC's control. The ARC examines most road projects and other issues that are regional in nature. However, the final approval now has to be passed on to GRTA. I do not have a real appreciation for either organization because they fail to achieve any significant gains in quality of life for the citizens of the metro area. Moreover, I have a problem paying for the lackluster results TWICE. Only recently has the ARC allowed public comment prior to approving various projects for the metro area. Only recently have they begun addressing quality of life issues and offering educational programs for citizens and government officials to bring about improvements. Public comment and education are nice additions. However, I believe that if our federal highway funds had not been withheld that ARC may not have implemented these niceties and the metro quality of life would have continued to diminish at a rapid pace. The ARC has been a developmental good old boys club and Wayne Hill, Gwinnett County Commission chairman, has lead the ARC for far too long. I strongly urge you to ask your Fayette ARC representatives to withdraw their support for continual dues increases Mayor Bob Lenox, blenox@cfcmail.com and County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn at 770-460-9596. This amendment is now before the General Assembly. Please also contact our state representatives Kathy Cox at 404-656-0314 and Lynn Westmoreland at 770-487-2890, along with our state senators Mitch Seabaugh at 770-304-0652 and Greg Hecht at 770-463-8054 and tell them to vote against such unwarranted funding increases. On another subject, congratulations go TDK's Bill Nutt, Bobby Wilkerson and the rest of the environmental staff for being selected as one of few companies in the Southeast for the EPA's National Environmental Achievement Track program. They have a tremendous amount of responsibility for protecting the health and safety of TDK's employees and the citizens of Peachtree City. Both Mr. Nutt and Mr. Wilkerson are active participants with Fayette County's Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). After getting to know Bill Nutt for the past several years through the LEPC, I can tell you that he is one of the most conscientious persons in his field. His devotion to his duties at TDK and to the LEPC makes Fayette County a very safe place to reside. Steve Brown Peachtree City Steve_ptc@juno.com
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