Legislators straddle fence on tax plan
Answers disappoint many in Burke
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

Local elected officials looking for hard-nosed opposition to controversial property tax reform didn't find it in their state legislators last week.

The tax reform plan became the hot topic of discussion at the Burke County Chamber of Commerce's first legislative breakfast last Thursday, which welcomed Georgia Senator J.B. Powell and Georgia Representatives Gloria Frazier and Jon Burns. Jimmy Lord, whose district includes Midville, did not attend.

Each legislator brought up the GREAT Plan, which stands for Georgia's Repeal of Every Ad Valorem Tax, saying it needed some tweaking. None of the legislators, however, voiced open opposition.

Burns indicated that he would likely support the measure, citing escalating property values in his district which includes fastgrowing Effingham County. Powell and Frazier remained noncommittal about their potential votes.

At the breakfast, Powell said that local leaders would have to explain to their constituents why they thought it was a bad idea because many constituents he hears from believe the plan of eliminating property taxes sounds pretty good.

"I already know what the constituents who own property are telling me, and I'm going to vote the way my constituents want me to…I'm not going to mislead you."

In a subsequent interview, Powell labeled the plan "a work in progress" and said "it's hard to form a position on something that is continually shifting and changing."

However, he acknowledged he could possibly get behind it if a definite plan and sales tax amount were presented.

"It has the potential to develop into something that I could support," he said. "…It's just a plan that most of the general public would support."

Although Frazier attended a county commission meeting last month and stated firm opposition to the legislation, she would not commit to such a position last Thursday.

The current version of the plan, which is continually evolving, would eliminate school property taxes and car tag taxes and replace them with a sales, use and service tax on virtually everything at the point of consumption.

Car tag taxes bring about $230,000 into the county's coffers each year, according to county administrator Merv Waldrop, and school property taxes will provide about $19.3 million for Burke County Public Schools this year.

House Speaker Glenn Richardson, who is championing the effort, wants the consumptive tax to eventually replace all ad valorem taxes, taking away local taxing authority. Tax revenue would be collected from Atlanta, using a formula to redistribute the funds to counties, cities and school boards.

Several local elected officials, including school board members and city councilmen, have called the plan a threat to local control and funding of Burke County projects and education.

Burke County Board of Education chairman Johnny Jenkins, who was at a statewide school board conference during the breakfast, said the plan would be "awful" for education in Burke County.

"We would have to cut back on so much that we offer the kids now," he said. "Atlanta would control everything."

Currently, education in Burke County is funded mostly by local property taxes, thanks to the presence of Plant Vogtle.

"We are upside down from literally every other county in the state, because we get so much of our funding from local property taxes," Burke County BOE business manager Les Peel said. "Fifty to sixty percent of our revenue comes from local property taxes."

"This is home-rule versus Atlanta rule," Waynesboro Mayor Jesse Stone told the legislators and the full house at last Thursday's breakfast. "I don't see Atlanta having the ability to know all of our specific local needs."

Waynesboro councilmen Bill Tinley argued that there are other ways to reform taxes without sacrificing local control.

"I have a hard time believing that if we send all of that money to Atlanta, they'll be nice enough to send all of that money back to us," he said.

County commission chairman Jimmy Dixon said he did not know enough details about the current plan to decide if he supported or opposed it.

"The Speaker is still working on it, and we need to work with him," Dixon said. "We need tax reform, but whether his is the right one, I don't know."

(Staff writer Diana Royal contributed to this article.)