Thursday, March 12, 2009
News Senate passes Atlanta 'public safety' tax
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 7:10 PM
The state Senate passed legislation today that would allow Atlanta residents to decide if they want to pay extra for more police officers and firefighters.
State Sen. Kasim Reed, a Democrat from Atlanta who's also a front-runner in the mayor's race, sponsored the bill.
Dave Williams of the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports:
Legislation asking Atlanta voters to tax themselves to pay for additional police and fire protection cleared an important hurdle in the General Assembly Thursday.The Senate voted 30-23 to hold a referendum in the city in November on a plan to raise property taxes to hire more police officers and firefighters.
Reed said the legislation is modeled after a bill the General Assembly adopted allowing a sales tax referendum in Atlanta to pay for water and sewer improvements, which won approval from 71 percent of city voters. He said the property tax increase would expire after four years unless reauthorized in a subsequent referendum.
The bill now moves to the House. If approved, Reed says the owner of a $250,000 home would pay an additional $6 a month on their property taxes. The senator received some guff from his colleagues, who said Mayor Shirley Franklin and the City Council could resolve the dispute over raising taxes vs. cutting public safety themselves. But Reed says the problem can't wait for a new administration in City Hall.
Comments (2)
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Despite Kasim Reed's words, this legislation is an admission that mayor and council are refusing to address the budget crunch and public safety. There is no comparison between a millage increase referendum and a sales tax referendum. Council has the ability to set millage at whatever level it chooses - no state law nor local referendum necessary. Council does not have power to set the sales tax, however: a referendum is required for that. Aside from that, the really interesting question is whether Kasim Reed thinks an extra mill on property tax is all it is going to take to fix the budget and safety. If so, he needs a new calculator. We need to hold each mayoral candidate's feet to the fire on their specific budget proposals. They usually get away with games and evasions, but Atlanta is too near the brink for that in 2009.
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What a joke! Shirley Franklin and especially the city council members are pathetic cowards. Mayor of the Century is too busy jetting off to New York and Paris to take care of Atlanta. And the foolish voters keep electing scared and incompetent folks to the council. I wouldn't be surprised if Kasim Reed just won himself the election. Guess what he's going to campaign on until November? He should not have had to get the state legislature involved, but since Atlanta elected officials won't step up and actually serve the interests of the citizens, it's nice when someone finally makes an effort to do something.
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