Over on Fresh Loaf, Thomas Wheatley notes that Pin Ups (aka: “the strip club on the way to the DeKalb Farmer’s Market”) will make arguments today before the Georgia Supreme Court to remain open until 7am, in order to offer a “breakfast bar” to patrons.  Here are the facts of the case from the Court’s docket, as cut-and-pasted by Wheatley.

FACTS: At issue in this case is a judge’s refusal to grant a temporary injunction banning the enforcement of the amendments until the case is resolved in court. Pin Ups is a club in Decatur that offers nude dancing and drinking. In June 2010, the County amended the Alcohol Code requiring all licensed establishments that sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption to clear out patrons and close by 4:55 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and by 3:55 a.m. Sunday and Monday. The stated purpose was “to improve the quality of life in all of its communities” by minimizing the “deleterious conduct associated with” alcohol. Pin Ups offers a “breakfast bar” to its patrons, serving food until 7:00 a.m. It closes at that time, then reopens at 9:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Pin Ups sued the County, seeking a preliminary injunction until the case was resolved. It argued the amendments forced it to close down for hours a day; impeded its breakfast business; and violated its constitutional rights to due process and First Amendment protections. The trial court denied the request for a temporary injunction, and Pin Ups now appeals to the state Supreme Court.

If you’d like to read a synopsis of arguments for and against Pin Ups’ breakfast, jump over to Fresh Loaf and give Old Man Wheatley a click-thru!

Per the AJC,

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that DeKalb County doesn’t owe its cities more than $10 million from a decade-long battle over its penny-on-the-dollar homestead sales tax, or HOST.

But nine cities in the county are entitled to a direct share of the tax proceeds from here on out – creating a whole new source of income for the cities to renovate buildings or take on other capital projects.

Our collective fantasies of how to spend a couple million around the city have been squashed, but the City of Decatur is in line for a nice income stream for capital projects moving forward. Steve puts the annual number at around $600,000, though that was just an estimate.

Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss writes in the “Budget Message” (see page 8 ) to the City Commissioners that the city believes the Georgia Supreme Court will make a final ruling in City of Decatur et al. v. DeKalb County next month.

For the uninitiated, the HOST dispute revolves around DeKalb County cities believing that the County has unfairly distributed sales tax proceeds established under the Homestead Option and Sales and Use Tax agreement in 1997.  Four DeKalb cities – including Decatur – sued the county way back in 2000.  This will mark the third time the case has been ruled on by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Over the years, the money under contention has really added up, with Decatur stating as recently as February 2011 that it was owed over $10 million from the county in HOST money for capital improvements.

Back in February when the case was argued before the Supreme Court, some of you expressed doubt that the County could pay the City of Decatur and other DeKalb cities, tens of millions of dollars if they lost the suit.  However, the City Manger’s note says this…

Should the litigation be resolved in the City’s favor, we would anticipate receiving significant funds for capital improvements by 2013.

What would Decatur do with $10 million for capital improvements?

The AJC reports this morning that the Georgia Supreme Court has voted 4-3 against the 2008 Act that authorized state commissioned charter schools.

The high court decided that the charter schools did not fit the definition of “special schools” as envisioned in the state Constitution. The landmark case is the first to rule on the constitutionality of an alternate authorizer of charter schools that has already opened campuses that are educating students.

Though all articles on the subject this morning list seven counties – including DeKalb – as plaintiffs, you may recall that Decatur tried to add its name to that list back in 2009, but was refused since it could not demonstrate any injury.  (a.k.a., no one had created a state-commissioned charter school inside the Decatur city limits)  Decatur instead drafted a resolution supporting the counties’ lawsuit.

The fate of the 17 schools already approved by the state commission remains unclear at this point.  According to the AJC, the state commission could ask the Supreme Court for a rare “reconsideration” or the individual schools could apply for status as a “special school”, but that would mean they wouldn’t receive a local share of funding.  Patch’s write-up on the topic indicates that Avondale’s Museum School is currently in the process of pursuing these options.

The HOST case is back!

A press release announces that the decade-long HOST (Homestead Option Sales Tax) dispute between Decatur (and other DeKalb cities) versus DeKalb County over millions of dollars in HOST money will heard by the Georgia Supreme Court for a third time next Tuesday, February 8th.  Here’s all the background on the case, courtesy of the release.  Also it’s good to know that by last estimate, Decatur was owed $10 million in back HOST/capital improvement money by DeKalb County.

CITY OF DECATUR ET AL. V. DEKALB COUNTY (S11A0354)

This appeal stems from a dispute between four cities in DeKalb County and the county government over the distribution and expenditure of tax revenues. This is the third time this case has come to the Georgia Supreme Court.

FACTS: In 1998, the cities of Decatur, Chamblee, Doraville and Stone Mountain, along with other DeKalb municipalities, entered into a 49-year intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the county to provide for the distribution of millions of dollars in sales tax proceeds. The agreement required the county to share with the cities a portion of Homestead Option Sales and Use Tax (HOST) money. HOST is a countywide one-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1997 to help offset property taxes. Under the HOST statute, 80 percent of the revenues must be used for that purpose, with the remaining 20 percent to be used to fund capital improvements. Under the agreement, the cities could use the money as they pleased as long as they were used for “capital outlay projects” within county boundaries.

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