On your November 2nd ballot, Decatur residents will find this lovely legalese…

Shall the Act be approved which authorizes the City of Decatur to exercise redevelopment powers under the ‘Redevelopment Powers Law,’ as it may be amended from time to time?”

In layman’s terms this essentially asks you, “Should Decatur have the option to create Tax Allocation Districts inside the city limits?”

Tax Allocation Districts or “TADs” have been used with mixed success throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area in recent years. The most prominent – and successful example – being Atlantic Station.  In a nutshell, TADs use additional tax revenue generated by new development on-site, (i.e. – the difference between your taxes pre-renovation and after renovation) to pay-off the very construction bonds that funded the development in the first place.

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As reported here by various commenters in the last couple weeks, NAVO church has moved out of its current digs of the old “Big H” property at 630 East Lake Drive in Oakhurst.

The DNO reports this morning that the church is moving its services to the AMC movie theater at North DeKalb Mall, leaving the former grocery store space empty yet again.

Let the calls for a Trader Joe’s commence.

The 2010 has come bearing gifts for the city of Decatur in the form of MORE online information!

Launching January 1st, Decatur News Online is the brainchild of resident Geoff Koski, which pledges to be a “journalistic internet news source for the citizens of the City of Decatur, Georgia— covering community events and issues” and already includes a variety of postings by contributing residents.

And just today, we received word via The Decatur Minute that the city was launching a third blog with the new year.  The Decatur Tax Blog promises to provide “fresh, non-partisan content about national & local tax and housing developments, timely reminders about tax deadlines for residents, special announcements, and educational posts about your tax bill.”

In his first post, city employee (and now “blogger”) Russ Madison makes one thing quite clear…

…this blog will in not be a political platform or forum about tax rates. For concerns about tax rates I would encourage you to contact your elected officials or visit privately-run blogs. Also, the information provided on these pages shall in no way constitute legal advice about your individual tax circumstances. Please seek the advice of a tax professional for dicey personal situations.