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The City of Peachtree City provided a Town Hall style program decimating information on Tuesday, December 17th. Thank you! It was well done and allowed those of us attending to ask questions and see potential scenarios for Amendment 581 application.
The county should follow up with a similar offering so citizens can understand the impact on our overall real estate bill.
As noted in the presentation, the municipalities and county can still opt-in or opt-out of participation. Decisions need to be made by March 1st. My fear is that our elected officials will make the decision to opt-in because the voters asked for it even though, realistically, most voters had NO idea what they were voting in when they said “yes” to this complicated amendment. If our elected officials decide to opt-out then it will be up to these same officials to do an excellent job of communicating why it is in OUR best interest, as Fayette County citizens, to not participate in this amendment.
Do you realize that if we opt-in then we will have to vote on penny sales tax every 5 years to offset lost real estate tax revenue? Sales tax votes are rarely popular and now the county/city will have to beg for this sales tax every 5 years in addition to SPLOST and ESPLOST, etc.! If voters don’t allow the additional sales tax, then it is almost inevitable that the county and/or city will have to raise millage rates. So that means that the caps set up by this amendment are basically lost.
However, the other concern I have is the possibility that the county may try to lure in more industry/commercial businesses that aren’t capped by this amendment – like another large development similar to the current data center construction project near Tyrone Road and Hwy 54. You only have to drive between Peachtree City and Fayetteville on Highway 54 to realize how much our county is changing and the decision to opt-in to this real estate amendment will further yank control from the citizens of Fayette County.
The county and cities within Fayette County are working together to make the best decision for us. Short- and long-range thinking needs to be considered and not just political inconveniences. Please do what’s best to preserve our county culture for years to come.
Kate Rogers
Peachtree City Resident
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