From the Decatur Tax Blog…

Governor Deal signed legislation yesterday that will put five separate questions on November ballots to expand homestead exemptions in Decatur. Deal signed Senate Bill 339, which authorizes a referendum on increasing the basic homestead exemption (known as the GH1) from $20,000 to $25,000. SB 340 allows a vote on increasing the exemption for homeowners over 65 (GH2) from $1,000 to $10,000. SB 342 makes another ballot question that would create a new $15,000 exemption (GH3) for homeowners over 62 with household income under $50,000. SB 341 repeals an old cap on exemption amounts. SB 343 authorizes a vote to create an exemption from school taxes (excluding school bond taxes) for homeowners over 65. Voter approval of these measures would reduce property taxes for eligible homeowners by decreasing the taxable value of their homes. If approved on Nov. 8, 2016, homeowners would become eligible for the homestead exemptions in 2017. The new school exemption would expire in 2021 unless it is renewed.

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Back in early February, Jim Galloway pointed out how the recent Republican representative shift from rural to suburb (think Perdue vs. Deal) played out during the 2011 legislative session with the passage of the Sunday alcohol sales bill.  “An interesting perspective”, I thought.  “I’ll have to see how this plays itself out in the coming months.”

Well, low and behold, give ’em a couple months and suddenly, not only are ITP blue and OTP red purchasing Sunday liquor, but they’re standing side-by-side announcing that together, the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta had just convinced Porsche to consolidate its North American HQ at the old Ford Hapeville plant.

Maria Saporta notes the recent rarity of such an announcement…

For people in economic development circles, they couldn’t remember the last time that the governor of Georgia and the mayor of Atlanta had stood side-by-side to make such an announcement.

In fact, as best folks could remember, such a joint appearance may have dated back to when Atlanta was hosting the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

…But both Deal and Reed said that the two governments ability to collaborate was critical in Georgia and Atlanta attracting an increased commitment from Porsche.

“We wouldn’t have gotten this done without us working together,” Reed said after the press conference. “There was strong coordination between the state and the city. We both stepped up to the table repeatedly.”

A reminder that while there may still be real and theoretical differences between the two parties running the state and city, common interest sometimes trumps all.  And as of 2011, there seems to be a lot more common interest between the city and state than there used to be.

Unsung or not, it’s already producing results.

The AJC reports this morning that Gov. Nathan Deal is backing off his plan to change Georgia’s Pre-K program from full-time to part time.  How will Deal keep Pre-K full-time and still cut millions from the program?

…Deal said he’ll meet the objective of slashing millions of dollars in program spending by cutting the pre-k year from 180 days to 160 days. He’ll still expand pre-k enrollment, but by 2,000, not 5,000 students as first proposed two weeks ago.

…Brian Robinson, spokesman for the governor, said teachers will see a pay cut because of the shortened school year, but the salary drop will be 10 percent, not the 30 percent that would have come with Deal’s original plan.

In addition, each pre-kindergarten class will add two extra students, saving about $22 million, Hames said.

I’ll contact CSD and ask how this will affect Pre-K for the coming year.

Thanks to Shelley for the heads-up!!

If you considered the Holiday Inn hotel renovation “big news”, THIS is HUGE news for Decatur.  How do I know?  Because in addition to the city, the Governor’s Office just put out a press release about it.

Bottom-line: The international digital entertainment developer, CCP Games, is relocating from Gwinnett County into the “Wells Fargo/J. Christopher’s building” at 250 East Ponce de Leon Ave inside the city of Decatur.  The move is thanks to a LOT of hard work at every level, from the State, to the County, to the City, right on down to the property owner, to keep CCP in the state of Georgia.  After the company adds 150 new jobs, they will be 300 strong inside our city.

From both the state and the city’s press releases it also sounds like the decades of hard work on Decatur’s part to create an attractive, walkable community, played no small part in CCP’s decision.  From the Governor’s Office press release…

“Decatur offers the perfect blend of big city accessibility with a hometown feel that we were looking for,” said Mike Tinney, President of CCP North America. “Georgia’s financial climate combined with Decatur’s social climate provide the ideal conditions for continued growth.”

Also…

“CCP Games had a list of qualities they wanted in a new business location — a strong sense of safety, easy access to MARTA and a high quality of life that would be attractive to new employees — and we met all of them. A business environment that supports creative businesses and had a wide variety of restaurants and entertainment within easy walking distance of their office were also high on their list,” said Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd. “Decatur fit their needs and CCP fits our vision for our downtown business community. We welcome them to our city and look forward to their participation in our creative, actively engaged community life.”

Congratulations to all involved!  You can read both press releases for yourself in full after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gov. Nathan Deal announced his plan this morning to keep the HOPE Scholarship program alive as education costs continue to rise.  From the AJC…

Only the brightest of college students – those with at least a 3.7 high school GPA – will see HOPE cover all tuition, Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday morning as he released a drastic plan to cut escalating costs to the popular lottery-funded program.

For those earning at least a 3.0, the scholarship will cover at most 90 percent.

As for pre-K, parents will see the free program cut from 6 ½ hours to four, Deal said, adding that the change will allow the state to open more slots to the program.

According to the AJC, Democrats also support the proposal.  More details on the entire plan can be found in the AJC article linked to above.

Once the strong front-runner for Georgia Governor, Republican candidate John Oxendine’s support proved quite fragile in the final weeks leading up to Georgia’s Primary, as the news narrative abruptly changed last week with Karen Handel’s Sarah Palin endorsement.

Polls leading up to the primary day showed Oxendine falling out of the race entirely, ceeding a second-place run-off spot to Nathan Deal and ultimately when the fingers met the touchscreen yesterday, Oxendine finished 4th behind Eric Johnson.

On the Democratic side, former Democratic Governor Roy Barnes just can’t seem to get enough of the Gold Dome and Democratic voters across the state didn’t stand in his way.  Barnes secured 64% of the Democratic vote yesterday to avoid a run-off.

Closer to home, U.S.  House Representative Hank Johnson easily defeated Vernon Jones in the District 4 Democratic primary.  He will face Liz Carter, who received 55% of the Republican vote, on Election Day – November 2nd.

In the State Superintendent race, Decatur resident Brian Westlake finished third with 59,687 votes behind Joe Martin and Beth Farokhi for the Democratic nod.  Martin will face Republican challenger John Barge in the fall.

For more election results, presented in a readable format, check out the AJC’s results page.