An area of weakness for Georgia is its number of dentists – the state ranks 46th nationally in dentists per capita, with 18 counties without a single practicing dentist. Our only dental school, Augusta University’s Dental College of Georgia, has served as the state’s only dental college for nearly 60 years, but only puts out about 60 new dentists a year. To meet the growing need, DCG and AU are partnering with Georgia Southern (with some funding help from the state legislature) to open a new campus in Savannah, which will educate 50 additional dentists and 20 additional hygienists annually. RISING…
Atlanta, Fulton Co. square off in tax fight
The City of Atlanta has long used tax allocation districts (TADs) as an economic development tool, leveraging property tax increases to pay for local infrastructure projects. But the Fulton County Commission has slammed on the brakes, voting 4-1 to reject a proposed 30-year extension of Atlanta’s TADs. That sets up a major budgetary clash, as the Fulton TADs would be expected to generate over a billion dollars over that period. Now the county will vote on TADs on a case by case basis, with stricter oversight and enforcement, leaving Atlanta’s money faucet DRIFTING…
