AJC > NorthSide > Blog > Archives > 2007 > May > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTownhall audience votes for road repairs, keeping tax rate unchanged
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With a show of hands the public spoke, and this is what they said: Fix the roads, even if it means forgoing a rollback of the tax rate.
At a Johns Creek town hall meeting Thursday night, Mayor Mike Bodker asked the 50 or so people in attendance about their priorities for the new city.
Public safety or roads? Roads.
Roads or parks? Roads.
Public safety or parks. Public safety.
The city is about to begin drafting its first year-long budget, and Bodker wanted to know the community’s priorities. The audience listened attentively as he described competing stresses on the budget and the spending plan for 2008, including:
The need to repave or widen roads.
The desire to buy land for parks and fire stations.
The startup of new police and fire departments.
The need to put money in a rainy day fund because it’s fiscally responsible and can lead to better bond ratings.
Johns Creek cannot raise taxes above the current 4.731 mills without a vote of the people, but the city could roll back the tax rate, especially in the current environment of increasing real estate assessments.
A lot of people are steamed because the Fulton County Tax Assessor’s Office just reassessed about 63 percent of the property in Johns Creek, and values have gone up as much as 30 percent. Many feel that because their county tax bill will increase sharply, the city should roll back its taxes.
Bodker guessed that if the city millage rate is not rolled back, the net gain to the city from reassessments would be $1 million to $2 million. The city budget for 2008 is estimated between $40 million and $45 million.
Most people in attendamce Thursday felt the city should put the extra money in reserve rather than roll back taxes.
“I can’t believe I’m saying ‘pay more taxes’ — that’s just not me,” said Darrell Dobresk.
Johns Creek must adopt a tax rate for 2007 by July 1, and a budget for 2008 by Oct. 1.
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Comments
By Scott
June 1, 2007 9:29 AM | Link to this
This is the great thing about having your own city. If you are paying more taxes, at least you know it is going to stay in the city limits and be used to improve something within a day’s drive of home. It’s kinda like a homeowner association. You know the money stays local so you (generally) don’t mind paying. Fulton County taxes are different — we pay and pay and the money disappears into a bottomless pit far far away. Just don’t get so self sufficient that you start paying for stuff that Fulton County or the State of Georgia or a developer should be paying for — in Roswell they are proposing that the citizens back a loan for road work to help grease the path for a private development: Roswell East: City of Roswell to Fund Holcomb Bridge Improvements Using Tax Revenue . This kind of stuff could start happening to John’s Creek depending on what kinds of relationships the Mayor and City Council cultivate with developers over time.