The House transportation funding bill would bring a wide disparity in funding for county governments.
While the Association County Commissioners of Georgia supports House Bill 170, ACCG legislative director Clint Mueller told InsiderAdvantage Georgia he’s not completely satisfied with the bill because some counties will receive large windfalls and others suffer significant losses.
“Butts County loses a million a year,” Mueller said. “For a rural county, that’s a lot.”
The gap rises in what counties will receive to replace lost gas tax revenues for LOST and HOST programs. After July 1, 2016, counties can raise their sales tax rates under the programs from 1 percent to 1.25 percent. That increase would bring large surpluses for some of the larger urban and suburban counties, while several smaller, rural ones would see significant losses.
A version of the bill rewritten to remove local government opposition passed the House Transportation Committee Monday and is scheduled for the full House’s consideration this week. As of Tuesday afternoon, the bill was not on Wednesday’s debate calendar. That was the second go-round for the bill through the panel.
The revision gained support of the Georgia Municipal Association and the Georgia School Boards Association, along with the ACCG. But Committee Chairman Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, in presenting the revision to the committee, acknowledged that “pockets” of local government opposition remain.
Perhaps that’s because the bill would create winners and losers, which Roberts earlier in the session said he didn’t intend to do with the bill.
Butts would lose $996,667, according to a chart on the ACCG web site. Meanwhile, DeKalb County would gain $10.9 million, Fulton, $6 million, and Muscogee County, $1.6 million. Muscogee, a consolidated government with Columbus, is the only county with a 2 percent LOST rate, which would rise to 2.5 percent under the legislation.
Other losers include Bryan County, minus $449,046; Dade, minus $454,667; Peach, minus$341,736; Franklin, minus $341,975; Morgan, minus $309,235; Camden, minus $401,143; Haralson, minus $255,514; and Tift, minus $379,273.
But Clarke County, where Athens and the University of Georgia are located, would gain $3.02 million; Clayton County, $2.3 million; Douglas, $1.8 million; Bibb, where Macon is the county seat, $1.1 million; Savannah’s Chatham County, $1.9 million; Augusta’s Richmond County, $4.5 million; and Barrow County, $624,155.
The ACCG on its web site said Roberts has promised to seek an increase in the percentage of Georgia Department of Transportation funds used for Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants for transportation.
Even without that formula adjustment, ACGG estimates the LIMG grants will show an increase of $60 million to $70 million from expected increased DOT revenues under the bill. The legislation would convert the state’s present gas sales tax and fuel excise tax into a single 29.2 cent per gallon excise tax, 33 cents for diesel fuel.
DeKalb city proposals on fast track: Legislation that could lead to new cities in DeKalb County are moving quickly in the House after late starts.
Separate bills to set up incorporation referendums for the LaVista Hills and Tucker areas passed a subcommittee Tuesday afternoon and are scheduled for consideration by the House Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday morning.
Rep. Tom Taylor, R-Dunwoody, author of the Tucker bill, and Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain, both told InsiderAdvantage Georgia that they are optimistic that the proposals will gain approval before the session ends.
Taylor said that his House Bill 520 would allow LaVista Hills residents to decide in a referendum next November whether to incorporate “This legislation does not create a city,” he said. “It’s not a city by mandate; it’s a city by choice.”
That will give voters the chance to “replace an inefficient DeKalb County government with local services,” he said. A major benefit would be keeping taxes low.
He pointed to his own city of Dunwoody, where he served as a city councilman before coming to the Legislature. Dunwoody’s property tax rate has remained at 2.74 mills since the city’s incorporation in 2008, he said, while the county’s rate has leaped to 6.39 mills from the same point.
Mitchell, author of HB 515, which would set a similar referendum in Tucker, also expressed hopes of final passage. “I introduced similar legislation last year, and I was optimistic then, but it didn’t pass. I’m even more optimistic this year.”
The Governmental Affairs Committee is also scheduled to hear legislation to create a city of South Fulton.
