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Monday, February 11, 2008
‘David’ wins one for the taxpayers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pro se is a legal term that means “for self.”
Sometimes, though, the lone David beats Goliath. It happened Monday.
A little-known Buckhead real estate lawyer, representing himself in pursuing a challenge to a tax district concept that invites abuse as it spreads across Georgia, won a big one for taxpayers.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously — without a single doubt or dissent, mind you — that John F. Woodham, the pro se plaintiff who filed suit against the city of Atlanta over the funding for the proposed Beltline redevelopment plan, was right. His objections had been brushed aside as those of a meddlesome crank raising technical and procedural objections to something wondrous and good, the conversion of 22 miles of old rail line into a string of parks and neighborhoods, a project expected to cost $2.8 billion.
The merits of the Beltline redevelopment are not at issue here. If it’s a project the locals want and support with their own money, it’s of no particular concern elsewhere.
The core of his objection — and the reason it matters from Rabun Gap to Tybee Light — is that tax allocation districts have become the rage of local government officials. It’s a form of corporate welfare that should be used sparingly. Essentially, it freezes the assessments of property within a created district and attributes all enhancements for a period of, say, 25 years to a project or development that’s being proposed — the Beltline, or a major office-commercial-residential project like the one being proposed by the Sembler Co. in the vicinity of Briarcliff and North Druid Hills roads in DeKalb County.
If a home is worth $100,000 and property taxes are $1,000, an assumption is made that the development will cause the home to be worth $300,000, producing $3,000 in local property taxes. That $2,000 is then borrowed and handed over to the developer for infrastructure improvements. The premise is that, but for the proposed development, the property would not have appreciated and might even have lost value — hence a local government’s interest in creating the tax allocation district. In the case of the Beltline, estimates were that $1.7 billion in new taxes would be generated over 25 years.
Woodham’s legal objections came when a city of Atlanta development authority proposed to borrow the first portion, $28 million, to be turned over for Beltline development.
He asserted that local school boards have no authority to collect taxes intended for the education of schoolchildren and use it for unrelated purposes. The court’s decision, written by Justice Hugh Thompson, affirms Woodham’s contention that using school funds for noneducation purposes violates the state Constitution’s educational purpose clause. While the Atlanta Board of Education had waived most of its anticipated taxes in the district for the 25 years specified, the court noted that it is well settled in law that school taxes can be expended only for the support of schools and “such funds cannot be utilized for any other purpose.”
Tax allocation districts have a place — but what happens is that they become a form of corporate welfare inappropriately employed to fund development that would have occurred anyway within a reasonable period of time. More than two dozen of them have been created around Georgia.
The second concern — now addressed by the state Supreme Court — is that somebody is responsible for educating all those children whose families are attracted by large-scale developments. Before Monday, the education tax dollars of those parents were diverted to other purposes. The consequence is that property owners elsewhere are forced to pay not only for their own children, but also for the children who live in tax allocation districts as well.
Others cowered; David, in the form of John F. Woodham, came forth.
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Hillary or Obama: WWJD?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the GOP race all but over, temporarily idle right-wingers can amuse ourselves with the conundrum facing the Democrats.The Rev. Bill Clinton, preaching Sunday at black churches in the District of Columbia and Maryland, said the Lord has given us a mighty burden this primary season.
“All my life I have wanted to vote for a woman for president,” said the Rev. Mr. Clinton, ordained in the Gospel of Liberalism, to the 800 members of the Temple of Praise church in Washington. And, he emoted, “All my life I have wanted to vote for an African-American for president. … I wonder why God gave us this dilemma.”
One thinks that Minister Clinton might not seen it as a dilemma “God gave us” had the African-American been Michael S. Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, or the woman been Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. But far be it from me to inject myself between the spiritual man in the pulpit and his wife’s troubles in appealing to a very large constituency in the Democratic Party.
Minister Clinton said he understood the desire of blacks to elect one of their own — within the confines of the Democratic Party, of course — as president. But his wife is “the best qualified person to be president I’ve had the opportunity to vote for,” and he urged them to consider her experience, her support for full voting representation in Congress and policy initiatives on health care, housing and education. Pray about it, he urged them.
The Man in the Pulpit fervently hopes that God leads them out of their terrible dilemma by Tuesday, when Hillary faces off against Barack Obama in primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Right now, Clinton and Obama are tied. Obama has 1,143 delegates to 1,137 for Clinton. Obama won primaries over the weekend in Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska and the Virgin Islands and in the Maine caucuses. Obama is expected to win Tuesday’s primaries as well.
Suddenly, Hillary badly needs the 366 convention delegates the national party withdrew from Michigan and Florida, states Hillary can legitimately claim she won.
Sit back. Be entertained. Watch the ministers of political gospel at work. No admission charged. There’s more suspense here than on high school football recruiting day in Georgia.
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