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Letters to the Editor

Millage rates may be wrongly figured

I just read your article, "Reassessment appeal could lower your tax bill" [The Citizen, Aug. 17].

As a former Board of Equalization member, I understand that there is a problem with the property tax process that is even more disturbing than the fact that individual tax bills can increase due to reassessments. In fact, solve this problem and millage rates can actually DECREASE as the tax digest increases.

Taxing authorities (cities, counties, school boards) do not adopt mathematically-correct millage rates.

There is only one way to CORRECTLY calculate the millage rate. Taxing authorities should divide the portion of the budget that must be funded by tax dollars (A) by the net tax digest (B).

Multiply the result by 1,000 and you have the amount of tax on every $1,000 of taxable value that must be collected to fully fund the budget. That number is the millage rate (C).

In other words, as the tax digest grows and elected officials hold the line on expenses (and increase the percentage of the budget funded by non-tax dollars such as impact fees, fines, user fees, etc.), the millage rate MUST go down and thereby individual tax bills.

A mathematical millage rate is the ONLY legal way to pass the benefit of a growing tax digest to the individual taxpayer in the form of a lower tax bill.

Here's the sad part: our research indicates that over nine out of 10 Georgia taxing authorities do not "do the math."

Elected officials adopt an arbitrary rate that has absolutely no mathematical connection to actual budget needs or the net tax digest.

Currently, there is no law that requires taxing authorities to adopt a mathematically-correct millage rate.

Even worse, newly-elected city council members and county commissioners are not taught the calculation.

New school board members are taught a process I call a "millage value estimation" that is flawed, mathematically.

The correct process is taught by the Department of Revenue to tax commissioners, county appraisers, assessors and Board of Equalization members. But they don't adopt the millage rate!

I have reviewed Fayette County millage rates for 2001-2004:

School Board: The board appears to be doing the "millage value estimation" mentioned above. Most likely, the rate is not mathematically correct.

Fayette unincorporated: It is not possible to determine strictly from a review of the rates whether or not the unincorporated county rate is incorrect. It looks like they are adopting the "Taxpayers Bill of Rights" rollback rate which, in all cases, is mathematically wrong (unless they hit the right number by accident!).

Brooks: It appears that they are adopting "round number" rates or the rollback rate which are most likely mathematically incorrect.

Fayetteville: This city adopted the same rate in 2004 as it adopted in 2003, a mathematical near-impossibility. Prior to that, the city adopted "round number" rates which were also probably incorrect.

Incorporated/Fayetteville: I assume this is the county rate for incorporated Fayetteville. It appears that the county is adopting the rollback rate, worth investigating.

Peachtree City: Adopted the same rate in 2004 as in 2003, a mathematically near-impossibility and most likely incorrect.

Incorporated/Peachtree City: Looks like rollback rates, probably incorrect.

Tyrone: Has adopted the same rate for the past three years. I can guarantee that the rate is incorrect and probably too high.

Incorporated/Tyrone: Apparently rollback rates; probably incorrect.

Subject to confirmation, I can say that EVERY millage rate adopted during the past four years by every taxing authority in Fayette County has been mathematically incorrect (unless they got it right by chance). I would bet that this year's rates are wrong as well.

If that is the case, then your county, cities and school board are either OVER-taxing or UNDER-taxing the property owners of Fayette County. It has to be one or the other.

I invite you to visit www.millagerate.com. You can learn how to calculate a millage rate or use our online calculator. You can also find more about the benefits of "doing the math" as well as what other jurisdictions are doing.

I am available to assist you in your investigation of the millage rates in your coverage area. In my opinion, you're sitting on a very important investigative news piece.

Bob Griggs

Loganville, Ga.

millagerate.com

Shamrock Park, new library: Smola out of touch with Tyrone citizens

I have just read your article regarding [Tyrone Councilman Mike] Smola's request to the Fayette County Commission regarding Shamrock Park.

As a citizen of Fayette County and some one who has spent many years involved in Tyrone recreation, I urgently request that the commission not release this deed restriction.

In my opinion, Mr. Smola is completely out of touch with the citizens of Tyrone. I personally know a lot of residents who spent many hours developing Shamrock Park when neither the county nor the city would or could spend the time or money on it.

These people volunteered their time and money in order for their children to have a decent place to play ball.

I also saw a lot of the same faces when we saw a need for the softball fields at Redwine Park.

For those of you who do not know, this is how the development for recreation has been handled in the past. When the community saw the need, they rolled up their sleeves and reached into their pockets.

I have not been involved in the development of Handley Park but I am sure this process has been continued.

Mr. Smola's comment regarding this area being energized by the new library is ridiculous. Shamrock Park has been a focal point of Tyrone for the 21 years that I have lived here.

I have always found it energizing to go to the park and see parents spending time with their children. I loved to hear the cheers of the crowd and the laughter of the kids.

I cannot tell you how many wonderful friends I have made at this park, not to mention the life-long friends my children have made. It is very easy to get to know your child's friends and parents when you sit in the stands with them.

My children are grown now, but I will always remember their excitement every year when the week of Founders Day approached.

Each year when I would top the hill at Jack's Market and see the lights of the little carnival, I could not help but smile at how little it took to make children happy.

I was very disappointed at the decision to relocate the event to Handley Park last year. The majority of the people I spoke with were also unhappy. I assume the reason is because the town has other plans for Shamrock Park.

I have been told that there are plans to build a new town hall at this location although Mr. Smola did not mention it.

Mr. Smola's suggestion to relocate the tennis and basketball court to the rear of the park does not make sense. I have always felt that it was safe for the kids who play on these courts at night because it is located next to the police station. The area at the rear of the park is very isolated and would not be as safe.

If Tyrone is concerned about saving money, I think the best location would be the site near Publix because of its access to sewer. Shamrock Park (as every one in Tyrone knows) will not perk for a septic tank or at least that is what we have been told for years.

Again, I urge the Fayette County Commissioners not to turn their back on these people who gave so much.

Save Shamrock Park!

Pat Carden

dhcarden (at) comcast.net

Thanks, Tyrone, for lowering speed limit

Thank you, Tyrone, for lowering the speed limit on my street.

I read with interest the complaints from nonresidents of Tyrone complaining about the lowering of Tyrone's speed limits. As a resident of Tyrone living on Ashland Trail for 16 years, I am sure I am not alone in support of our efforts to control traffic in our town.

For most of our time in Tyrone, Ashland Trail was a neighborhood street that ended at a dirt road leading to a horse farm. The road traffic was all residents of Windsong.

Now that the horse farm is being developed as Lake Windsong, Ashland Trail now connects to paved roads in that subdivision and is being used by nonresidents from other counties as a shortcut to avoid the stop at Castlewood and Senoia roads in Tyrone.

Ashland Trail has no curbs, no sidewalks, no cart paths and no stripe painted down the middle. It's a neighborhood street with children playing on it, people riding bikes and walking dogs, etc.

We frequently witness cars and trucks (both big and small) traveling at speeds of 45 to 55 mph.

I'll bet all those nonresidents would be just as supportive of lowering the speed limit on their neighborhood street if they were faced with the situation on Ashland Trail.

I have a novel suggestion for the complainers: don't drive through Tyrone on your commute.

Jim Shaughness

Tyrone, Ga.

Former Mayor Lenox disputes Mayor Brown's PTC history

Steve Brown kicked off his campaign for reelection last week with - surprise! - a letter to the editor. As is usual with his letters it contained a number of statements that ranged from misleading to downright deceitful. Whenever this happens during his campaign I will take it upon myself to provide corrections to the major items.

First, neither Fred Brown nor any other former Mayor (there are six of us still living here) ever campaigned against Steve Brown. We hoped for the best but realized almost immediately after he took office that we had gotten the worst.

I myself gave him access to his soon-to-be office at City Hall before his term even began and then watched in disgust as he spent thousand of dollars in taxpayer money remodeling it to suit his fancy. I imagine that all of we former mayors will, in fact, strongly recommend that you not vote for him this time around.

The next big lie is an old favorite of the mayor, calling the members of the Development Authority crooks and their actions illegal.

If there was even a shred of truth or substantiation to these allegations I assure you that Mayor Brown would be swearing out warrants for their arrest and taking civil actions to recover damages from them. If his statements were true he would, in fact, have a legal and fiduciary responsibility as mayor to go after them.

He does not do so because he is fully aware that he cannot do so. His words are not facts, just the vitriolic blather of a character assassin.

It is also disingenuous to imply that "proper management" is now in place at the Tennis Center and Amphitheater. The Tourism Board gets more hotel/motel tax money than the authority ever did, has driven away over one-third (200-plus) of the Tennis Center members, refuses to pay for the facilities it uses every day, gets free services from the city, and still loses just as much money as the authority ever did.

For the first time in years the amphitheater is not sold out and hundreds of tickets go begging for every show. I guess Mayor Brown considers this "proper management."

The next lie is a doozy. When Mr. Brown took office he inherited a balanced budget, extensive cash reserves, an excellent credit rating, very little debt and a consistently low millage rate.

Your millage rate for 2005 will be about 22 percent higher than it was in 2001, the year before he took office.

If you study your city tax bill carefully you will find that in 2005 you will be paying 35 to 50 percent more than you paid in 2001. I think the mayor wants you to believe that he rescued us from some terrible fiscal crisis so you won't notice how much he has raised your taxes.

Next, and last for this week, is the inference by the mayor that he had anything to do with all the road money finally coming our way. The $66 million he refers to is for Ga. highways 54 West and 74 South. This money has been programmed to come to us for over 10 years.

State Senator Mitch Seabaugh, County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn and our U.S. Representative Lynn Westmoreland have all battled tenaciously over the years to protect our funding and to get the projects done as soon as politically possible.

With all due respect to the mayor, any one of these gentlemen, and many other knowledgeable people, would tell you that the projects are finally happening in spite of the mayor, not because of him.

We all might also remember that Mr. Brown campaigned mightily to defeat the road SPLOST but it passed anyway. Now it appears that he wants to take credit for the $11 million we got while conveniently ignoring the fact that without him Peachtree City would actually have received $17 million.

I could go on about other comments in his letter but that covers the major items. I eagerly await his next letter.

Bob Lenox

Former three-term mayor

1992 through 2001

Peachtree City, Ga.

PTC badly needs new leadership

Peachtree City is approaching what can be seen as a hallmark moment in its 46-year history. The city itself is an incredible accomplishment of planning and community involvement.

Our city is seen as being unique to many because of our signature golf cart paths, but I would contend that it is the quality of our community that truly makes us unique.

Our community is made up of some of the most wonderful people, long-time residents blended with people who have recently moved here, all taking an active role in community efforts for the preservation and improvement of our quality of life.

Our city has also been seen as unique because of the many controversies surrounding our current mayor, and I would also contend that strong stable leadership is desperately needed to face the challenges that lay before us.

In the next few years, tough decisions will have to be made concerning rezoning, our safety, and our quality of life. Making tough decisions is more than an internal battle within a leader, it takes the ability to cooperate and generate new ideas with other city and county officials to create the best outcome for our citizens. In essence I am describing strong leadership.

I have made the rounds discussing our city's issues with county and municipal officials adjacent to PTC. All of them have said the same thing: we do not have a partner in Peachtree City to work with.

We cannot expect to maintain our quality of life unless we can work together to approach problems such as traffic congestion, financial scandals, and the EMS debacle.

I could go on for days concerning other controversies facing the city, but instead I would like to offer the citizens of Peachtree City an alternative to the current situation.

My name is Harold Logsdon, and I may not be a refined politician, but I humbly submit to the citizens of Peachtree City that I do have the experiences necessary to provide strong leadership during a transitional period for the city.

As a manager, auditor, and financial planner in the private sector, and a retired colonel from the National Guard, I want to use my experiences in leadership and financial accountability to provide a stable atmosphere in which we can move forward as a community.

Harold Logsdon

Candidate for mayor

Peachtree City, Ga.

Check Brown's 2001 promises

The following is 2001 mayoral candidate Steve Brown's stated position on budget and taxation:

"Steve Brown promises that raising your property taxes will [be] the last resort and not the first line of defense. No more wasting precious dollars on pet projects. We need to re-examine all our expenditures.

"Steve Brown's number one question, 'At what point do we begin taxing people out of Peachtree City?'... We need to set definitive goals on spending and cost reduction and report our progress regularly to the citizens (our 'Board of Directors'). We need to provide regular accountability for our actions....

"Steve Brown believes that we should let the people decide where their tax dollars go. Anyone that is willing to usurp the authority of the general public on one issue is bound to do the same on other issues.

"I strongly believe that as an elected official, that significant changes that impact our community must be brought before the public. The mayor should provide management and vision but should never force mandates on the backs of the citizens."

The question, as the election approaches, is did Mayor Steve Brown live up to these ideals? Decide for yourself.

A recently announced tax hike (failure to roll back the millage rate). $14,000 to hook up wi-fi at our athletics fields, $8,500 of which to allow public use. Councilman Rapson's reasoning? It will encourage parents to come to the field and watch their children if they can do work while there.

Do you really want $8,500 of your tax dollars committed to entice uninterested parents to come participate in their children's lives? I certainly don't.

But my favorite expenditure is for the "Gateway Bridge." This bridge is going to connect the north side of Ga. Highway 54 adjacent to the Wynnmeade subdivision to Line Creek. And it isn't going to be cheap.

In fact according to the AJC Fayette section, it's going to cost $600,000 minimum. There is federal money earmarked; however, we will still be funding around $120,000 of the bridge, plus any cost overruns.

In fact according to the AJC the "city expects the cost to be higher." And that doesn't even include the $850,000 we spent to buy property to anchor the bridge.

All told, after paying off the property for 15 years and with NO cost overruns, our portion of the "Gateway Bridge" will cost a minimum of $1.3 million.

And don't forget that the "federal money" is coming out of your pocket too. Could it maybe be used to offset some of cost of the other bridge being built?

So, ask yourself, do we need the "gateway bridge"? Will enough people use it to warrant its cost? How much will upkeep cost over the years? Is this simply a "pet project" that Brown was so opposed too?

Are any of these expenses responsible "goals on spending and cost reduction"? Did any citizen actually get to vote on these costs? Did Brown and the City Council live up to Brown's promises delineated above? Or did they simply "force mandates on the backs of the citizens"?

In these times of rapidly increasing gas prices, loss of wages and benefits to many citizens, and increased property taxes, has Mayor Brown really led in a fiscally responsible manner?

You are the citizen; you make the call. Has Mayor Brown lived up to any of his pre-election promises?

And now he is again asking you to start a "grassroots" campaign to re-elect him. Before you go to polls in November I hope you will look at Brown's promises above, and compare them to his real actions.

Jim Stinson

Peachtree City, Ga.

Brown's compassion is evident

When Steve Brown was elected mayor of Peachtree City, I could not help ask myself what good will this young man do for our community.

Steve Brown has certainly proved to be a great surprise and a wonderful breath of fresh air.

I have had the pleasure of dealing with him in addressing many of the problems that the minorities of our community experience.

I felt his compassion and love for his brethren, and surprisingly he is a "what you see is what you get type of guy." I say that in a very complimentary sense.

He calls things by their name, and is in no way the stereotype politician.

I have spoken with many young adults and teens that have the utmost respect for Mayor Brown for the way he listened to their needs and found solutions for their problems.

Peachtree City is a unique place to live, but it is not Mayberry R.F.D. We need to move forward with the times, for the good of our families and for our economy as well.

Mayor Brown has had to make some tough calls, and I truly believe he has done serious soul-searching and taken the best interest of the community at heart.

I have tremendous admiration for a man who is not petty and has taken unjust criticism for being honest and sincere.

I believe that his honesty and sincerity has taken many by surprise, since that is not the norm for a politician.

I believe the title "Honorable" surely fits Mayor Steve Brown, and I wish him blessings in his campaign.

Marta McGlade

Peachtree City, Ga.

All cart owners being penalized for the misdeeds of only a few bad ones

Here we go again, penalizing everyone for the deeds of a few.

The argument goes we need to know the owner of a golf cart that is in some violation, or other reason, so we insist everyone ante up every three to five years.

Why not impound the cart and wait? If you need to enact some kind of legislation to demonstrate to the public your interest, i.e., "directed staff to flesh out the details of such a project," enact a time period of waiting for the following:

Case A: The owner comes forward on some illegality. Have this person pay a hefty fine. If indeed only 40 percent of the carts are correctly registered, this in itself should provide desired revenue when carts are hauled in, of course at owners' expense.

Case B: The owner comes forward regarding a stolen cart. Give it