DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/03/08
Is it possible to be wealthy and poor at the same time? It's a paradox that city leaders in Milton know something about.
The average house on the market in the city costs about $800,000, and the median household income is near the top in the state, but the city is laboring to pay for its basic needs.
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| Residential property taxes aren't enough to pay bills, Milton City Manager Billy Beckett says. |
City leaders say they have only a fraction of the funds needed to maintain roads and lack money for parkland and other priorities. They say the city can't afford to build its own city hall.
"We face short- and long-term challenges," said City Manager Billy Beckett. "We have a lot of needs. I've had requests for sidewalks, but there's no money. I've had calls asking for intersection improvements, traffic signalization. None of that is cheap."
It's a harsh reality for a city built on promises of offering better services and limited taxes.
City Councilman Alan Tart said residents will have to make choices about what services they want, at what level, vs. whether they prefer to keep their taxes low.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Tart said. "I'll do whatever the citizens want. But we can't spend more than we receive. Preliminary results of a survey show people want better services than they received from Fulton County, better infrastructure than they received from Fulton County, more attention than they received from Fulton County. But if you ask them if they're willing to pay more taxes, most said, 'No'."
One of the most pressing issues involves roads.
Milton has 175 miles of city-owned roads but only enough money to maintain five miles a year. Dan Drake, the city public works director, is conducting an analysis of Milton's roads, but he said he already knows, more or less, what he'll find.
"We don't have adequate allocations to roads just for pure maintenance," he said. "We may have to lower our standards. That would mean more cracks, a bumpier ride, alligator cracking, faded pavement."
The city has set aside $900,000 this year for road upkeep. To resurface all of its roads within the standard seven-year period, the city would need about $2 million to $3 million a year. The city has dozens of bridges; one that almost failed will cost about $200,000 to $300,000 to fix.
The city has an annual budget of about $17.7 million.
In addition to road maintenance, the city has set a priority for more parks. It currently has three, including one undeveloped. It has drafted a plan for a 48.6-mile trail system for bicyclists, hikers and equestrians — but no money to make it happen.
"Everyone is anxious to do something about parks," Beckett said. "But when you have parks, you have to have money to run them and maintain them. We have to meet some fundamental challenges first."
The city also faces ongoing costs from its new Police Department, Fire Department and Municipal Court. For example, Beckett said, Milton encompasses 23,000 acres, and the city needs a tanker truck to fight fires in remote areas. The Police Department needs more manpower to combat speeding, which Beckett said is a big problem in Milton.
Milton has limited options to increase revenue.
One possibility is impact fees, paid by developers to cover the infrastructure costs required to serve their projects. But legally those are limited to the area of the project and can only be used for specified city services.
Milton's tax rate is already at the statutory maximum of $4.731 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.
Before incorporating into a city, local residents worried that a new government would bring another level of taxation. To quell those fears, the legislation founding the city capped the millage unless voters approve an increase.
"I don't see anyone supporting a tax increase in this political climate," Beckett said.
The city might see more revenue because of new property assessments by Fulton County. Even so, Beckett said, despite the high value of the homes in the city, residential property taxes aren't enough to pay bills.
Only a small portion of the city is commercial property, which hurts the revenue base.
William Hudnut, senior resident fellow of the Urban Land Institute, said typically commercial development brings in more in taxes than it requires in services. A largely residential city will generally see a disproportionate share of the taxes fall on homeowners, he said.
But Milton residents treasure the semi-agrarian nature of the area, with its horse farms, estate properties and tree-lined lanes. They fear letting in commercial property will destroy the unique charm of Milton.
That has led the City Council to oppose expansion of sewer systems, which means projects along commercial corridors have to use valuable land for septic tanks. The City Council has also capped commercial buildings at only two stories and demanded developers spare more trees than other cities do.
The result is perhaps a more beautiful area, but a poorer city that serves a community expecting and demanding more services than it used to get from Fulton County.
The city this year is receiving about $5 million from Fulton County in taxes paid before the city incorporated, and that will help keep the budget crunch at bay. Plus in 2008, the city will start collecting $900,000 in insurance-related taxes.
And Beckett is looking for places to make city operations more efficient.
"It's doable," Beckett said. "I don't want to see the character of the community change any more than they do. But we need to be realistic. We need a practical approach to provide services this community needs."
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More on ajc.com
- Municipal retirement plans change with economy (09/28/2008)
- Milton approves fill-in city manager (09/25/2008)
- Chattahoochee Hill Country will double its property tax (09/25/2008)
- Milton names temporary city manager (09/24/2008)
- Lagerbloom to pinch hit as Milton city manager again (09/23/2008)
- Fulton to pay $5 million in settlement (09/18/2008)
- When builders cut and run (09/18/2008)
- Idle sites challenge metro Atlanta governments (09/17/2008)
- Fulton Commission won't vote on Milton's sewer agreement (09/17/2008)
- Fulton board won't vote on Milton's sewer pact (09/17/2008)
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Comments
By A McCommon
Jul 9, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this
Milton Man - I don't live in Atlanta, so once again you assumed wrong (how about if we all just stop making assumptions?). And your earlier comment referenced Fulton County's mayor. There are actually several mayors in Fulton County, but you clearly were referencing Atlanta's mayor. People need to understand that Fulton County is not Atlanta. I don't "lack common sense and analytical skills" because I pointed out an inaccuracy in your statement. Shirley Franklin is NOT "Fulton County's mayor," regardless of how many insults you throw at me. Atlanta voted her in, Fulton County did NOT.
By MiltonMan
Jul 9, 2008 8:55 AM | Link to this
McCommon = Lacks common sense & analytical skills. If I had a board, I would draw you a picture. The city of Atlanta is having budget problems & their well-loved mayor is raising the taxes, water rates, laying police off, etc. She also tried to get Fulton County to go along with her penny sales tax. Schools in Milton are top notched. How are your schools? Milton is a year-old. How old is Atlanta?
By ?Milton
Jul 9, 2008 8:44 AM | Link to this
It is interesting that no one has pointed out that even in this article it clearly shows that the city actually has 2.15 million to work with (5mm from Fulton spread over 4 years plus 900k annually). It is also interesting that each of the 20,000 residents is paying roughly $6.85 per year for Mr. Beckett ($137k annually) to not understand basic finance. By the way, where did the money for the new motorcycles for Milton's finest come from and what was wrong with the squad cars?
By Keeping It Real
Jul 9, 2008 8:31 AM | Link to this
Dave,
Race is a sensitive issue. The best way to confront it is...to confront it. Look how quick you changed your attitude and lost of your respect when I brought it up. Creating all these fiefdoms of self government does not make sense. By the way, the little hamlet in South Fulton(Chattahoochee Hills) is predominantly white. The other portions of unincorporated South Fulton decided to remain with Fulton County. I would guess that these areas were mostly black. Is not this racial? I wish that decisions,politics and positions were developed without race being an issue. Unfortunately, that is not the case in most situations. Have a good life.
By Dave
Jul 9, 2008 2:07 AM | Link to this
Keeping It Real,
Nobody is denying that DeKalb can't support itself without Dunwoody. I agree that the rest of the county will do just fine on its own. And to the contrary, this is not about race, but about the ability to self-govern. Was it a race issue in 2006 when Republicans sided with Democrats in allowing voters in south Fulton County to decide whether or not to form the proposed cities of Chattahoochee Hill Country and South Fulton?
Race is a convenient scapegoat, and unfortunately too many people (including AJC reporters, it seems) have a hard time looking past it to the real issues at hand. It's a double-standard, pure and simple, when you consider the unilateral support that was given to the same self-governing cause in south Fulton two years ago.
It's healthy to debate tax bases and such, which is what you did with your first post. But when you replied that it's a race issue, it showed your true agenda and you lost my respect with regard to this debate.
By hornet
Jul 8, 2008 11:01 PM | Link to this
Redundant services in lots of little towns and cities is a waste of money. If people north of I-285 had concentrated on forming Milton County, the extorted money flowing to Atlanta could have paid for most of the services.
The way to pay for the remaining services would be for these northern cities to stop adding more parks, bike paths, equestrian trails...etc. Come on people! Budget and pay for NEEDED services first. This pie in the sky stuff has got to stop. And what the heck happened to the idea of Milton County?
By Sore
Jul 8, 2008 9:15 PM | Link to this
Morris Road reminds me of riding in a combat zone. But if you swerve to miss a pothole, Milton's finest will blue light you in a second.
By Keeping It Real
Jul 8, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this
Dave,
You are correct. Dunwoody is very similar to Sandy Springs. The only catch would be the special tax district deal that the Perimeter Center area has with Dekalb County. Would that deal automatically be forwarded to Dunwoody should it become a City? By the way, Dunwoody is not supporting the rest of Dekalb County as one would suggest. Again, leave the false sense that the folks on the southside do not pay taxes. This is not correct as there is a lot of new upscale residential development on the south side along with commercial and industrial. The separation issue is racial in Dekalb just like in Fulton and needs to be put to sleep. Why keep creating new cities at the expense of the cummunity at large?Nashville, Tennessee created a metropolitan government in the 60's and it has never looked back.
By J in Milton
Jul 8, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this
Prior to Milton incorporating the study by the Carl Vinson Institute determined that Milton received more taxes from Fulton County than what was paid by Milton. The current crunch adds credibility to the study.
Our current Mayor and City Council promised everything to get elected. It will be interesting to see how they deal with reality.
The property taxes are among the highest in the Metro area. Forget about raising them. Was this not the purpose of incorporating into a City?
J in Milton
By Dave
Jul 8, 2008 5:13 PM | Link to this
Milton is stretched over a huge, rural area with an almost non-existent commercial tax base. Dunwoody, on the other hand, is much more compact and has a better mix of commercial (I-285) and residential. Compare Dunwoody to Sandy Springs, not Milton -- if you actually care for a fair comparison.
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