Georgia voters face three proposed amendments to the state constitution this year, all of them dealing with changes in local taxing authority. Two of them deserve qualified support but will require careful monitoring after passage. The other should be rejected outright.

Text of proposed amendment No. 1:

To encourage the preservation of Georgia’s forests through a conservation use property tax reduction program.

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the General Assembly by general law shall encourage the preservation, conservation, and protection of the state’s forests through the special assessment and taxation of certain forest lands and assistance grants to local government?”

Explanation: This amendment would allow a special property tax assessment on tracts of 200 acres or more of forest land, provided the owner agrees not to change the way the land is used or sell it for development for at least 15 years. The assessment would be based on the value of the land in its current use and would not be influenced by neighboring tracts that are sold for development. If the owner reneges on the agreement, local governments would be authorized to recover the taxes that would have been levied against the property. Conservationists believe the amendment is needed to keep owners from being pressured into selling their property because they are paying higher taxes due to adjacent development.

The amendment also authorizes the General Assembly to appropriate grants to local governments to offset the loss of tax revenue from the lower assessment of such property. This portion of the amendment is critical since many rural school districts would lose even more of their tax base. Local school officials estimate that the cost to the state for reimbursements would be about $34 million annually. They worry that the Legislature will back off its commitment to help when the state budget is tight, which is why the Georgia School Boards Association opposes the amendment. Vote YES.

Text of proposed amendment No. 2:

To authorize local school districts to use tax funds for community redevelopment purposes.

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize community redevelopment and authorize counties, municipalities and local boards of education to use tax funds for redevelopment and programs?”

Explanation: This amendment was necessitated earlier this year when the state Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not allow local governments to use school property tax revenue to help finance redevelopment projects. Dozens of projects around metro Atlanta, as well as other cities around the state, were proposing to use a financing mechanism called tax allocation districts to stimulate redevelopment in areas where developers would not otherwise be able to get conventional financing. Most of the tracts asking for the designation are in depressed areas that currently generate little or no tax revenue.

Tax allocation districts, or TADs, work by freezing property taxes in these designated districts while they are being redeveloped. Then, as the property is being improved and sold for residential and commercial use, the new taxes are used to pay off the debt for the redevelopment project. In the long run, everyone benefits, promoters say. Depressed property is improved and more taxes go into the general coffers.

This amendment does not authorize specific TAD-financed projects anywhere in Georgia. It merely allows school property taxes —- which account for about two-thirds of all local property taxes —- to become a part of the mix. Local school boards would retain the authority to say “no” to the use of school taxes or to negotiate specific terms in order to approve a TAD. That’s important because some of the projects promoted for TADs in recent years are too risky, especially in a depressed housing market. Local government officials, including school boards, should scrutinize these requests closely before approving them, demanding to know why the developers can’t get conventional market financing or why local governments won’t issue general revenue bonds to get them off the ground.

Tax allocation districts can be a useful financing tool for well-conceived projects that might not otherwise be affordable. But they also should be used sparingly. This amendment will allow communities to keep them in their redevelopment tool box. Vote YES.

Text of proposed amendment No. 3:

To authorize the creation of special Infrastructure Development Districts providing infrastructure to underserved areas.

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide by general law for the creation and comprehensive regulation of infrastructure development districts for the provision of infrastructure as authorized by local governments?”

Explanation: This amendment would give developers the right to assess fees to future homeowners in unincorporated communities to help pay off bonds for infrastructure. The proposal has been cleaned up somewhat from an earlier version, which had been referred to as a “private cities” bill. The districts would first need the approval of the local government before they could be formed, and developers using them also would be required to set aside some property within the development for green space.

Still, taxation, even in the form of a fee, is a power that should be confined exclusively to elected officials who can be held accountable to voters. There is no compelling reason for state or local government to surrender that power to developers. Taxpayers outside the district still would have to pay for access roads and improvements to sewers to accommodate the new construction. Homeowners inside the district would pay two sets of taxes —- one levied by the developer and the other by elected county officials. Vote NO.

—- Mike King, for the editorial board (mking@ajc.com)