Kudos to Fulton for standing up to tax commissioner
I’m so glad to see Commissioner Liz Hausmann and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners stand up to the Fulton County Tax Commissioner and his continued attempt to line his own pockets off the labor of county employees. Yes, it may very well be more efficient for Fulton County to provide a tax service to the city of South Fulton – but the benefits should go to the taxpayers of Fulton County, not Arthur Ferdinand who is already the highest paid “public servant” in the state.
TIMOTHY NEET, ALPHARETTA
Beltline’s commitment failure on display
The AJC’s excellent coverage may lead to a better understanding of the realities and the flaws of the Beltline and, hopefully, a better use of its considerable tax-supported staff and resources.
Three points should be underscored on the Beltline's failure to perform on its affordable housing commitment: First, reducing land costs is fundamental to achieving affordability, yet the Beltline utterly depends on raising land values and thus the tax increment that is its financial base — a clear conflict in its mission. Second, the Beltline defines "affordable" to confer Beltline subsidy support for people of much higher incomes than those in the most-impacted neighborhoods, another prod to displacement. Third, while the Beltline must spend 15 percent of its bond-supported activities on affordable housing, it is not limited in spending more if it so chooses, both from bond proceeds and other sources.
It is good that Smith and Gravel, after 11 years on the board, have awakened. The board members’ commentary echoes the Beltline’s habitual and predictable deflections from the facts, couched in 12-year-old hyperbole. If the emperor is not yet naked in the alternate city the Beltline has created, then surely his threadbare coverings are becoming more transparent.
MIKE DOBBINS, ATLANTA
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