{"id":22329,"date":"2021-09-05T17:04:14","date_gmt":"2021-09-05T21:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=22329"},"modified":"2021-09-05T17:04:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T21:04:14","slug":"videos-commissioner-comments-mud-swamp-road-fire-millage-hightower-road-gefa-lcc-2021-08-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2021\/09\/videos-commissioner-comments-mud-swamp-road-fire-millage-hightower-road-gefa-lcc-2021-08-24.html","title":{"rendered":"Videos: Commissioner Comments, Mud Swamp Road, Fire Millage, Hightower Road, GEFA @ LCC 2021-08-24"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nVery unusual: two Commissioners\r\n\r\ncommented at the end<\/a>.\r\nChairman Bill Slaughter had already been quite clear that the new fire department millage was\r\nto aid population growth in unincorporated parts of the county.\r\nMark Wisenbaker thought the fire department millage was premature\r\nbecause it did not consider land with no structures, agricultural land, etc.\r\nHe was the only Commissioner to vote against\r\n\r\n5.l. Adoption of Unincorporated Fire Millage<\/a>.\r\nClay Griner thought it was something they could improve as they go along.\r\n

\r\nNone of them mentioned that the fire millage applies to personal property\r\nas well as to real estate (land).\r\nAt least one of the Commissioners was unaware of this,\r\nand, since none of them ever seem to have mentioned it to the public,\r\nI’d bet the public is unaware unless they carefully examined their property tax statements.\r\nApplying that fire millage also to personal property is apparently how they kept it as low as they announced in the\r\n\r\nmillage rate hearing<\/a>.\r\nNevermind such a personal property millage falls heaviest on companies\r\nwith the most personal property, which would likely be Packaging Corporation of America (PCA), commonly known as the paper mill at Clyattville.\r\nIt’s not clear that companies with much personal property are the most in need of new fire services.\r\n

\r\n\"[Hightower<\/a>\r\n
Hightower Road, Fire Millage, Mud Swamp Road, Commissioner Comments<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe County’s support of unincorporated growth\r\napparently includes building next to wetlands, or in areas\r\nthe Army Corps of Engineers recently declared not to be wetlands,\r\nsince that had\r\n\r\njust been discussed<\/a>\r\nby County Manager Paige Dukes and the Chairman.\r\n

\r\nI have an idea!\r\nHow about build only close in to existing services, instead of\r\nsprawling farther out, where no taxes will ever pay enough for sending\r\nschool buses, Sheriff, and Fire.\r\nSee this report the County commissioned:\r\n\r\nThe Local Government Fiscal Impacts of Land Use in Lowndes County: Revenue and Expenditure Streams by Land Use Category<\/a>, Jeffrey H. Dorfman, Ph.D., Dorfman Consulting, December 2007. As Dr. Dorfman summarized in a different presentation<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nLocal governments must ensure balanced growth, as\r\n
\r\nsprawling residential growth is a certain ticket to fiscal ruin*<\/strong>\r\n
\r\n* Or at least big tax increases.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"sprawl\"<\/a>\r\nTrees and crops don’t call the Sheriff or the Fire Department much and don’t need school buses,\r\nbut subdivisions do,\r\nso forestry and agriculture are far more cost-effective in tax collection vs. services.\r\n

\r\nEverything except the Fire Dept. millage passed unanimously.\r\nEven the late-added mystery-location\r\n\r\n5.j. Proposed Sale of County Real Property to Industrial Authority<\/a>,\r\nwhich came with no map, no street address, and no parcel numbers.\r\n

\r\nHere are LAKE videos of each agenda item, followed by a LAKE video playlist.\r\nSee also the\r\n\r\n\r\nagenda and board packet<\/a>,\r\nthe\r\n\r\nLAKE videos of the previous morning’s Work Session<\/a>,\r\nthe\r\n\r\nLAKE videos of the millage rate hearing<\/a>,\r\nand\r\n\r\nOutgrant: Moody AFB Hightower Road easement to Lowndes County @ LCC 2021-08-23<\/a> \r\n