In the second outside commentary provided for the Georgia Municipal Association's (GMA) 2010 Connection web site, David Brunori, Contributing Editor to State Tax Notes magazine and Research Professor of Public Policy at The George Washington University, says that "The property tax is the ideal way to raise revenue for local government services." He goes on to say that "There is no reason to radically change the property tax system. Indeed, doing so will significantly reduce local government ability to efficiently and responsively provide services demanded by the citizens."Read the entire commentary, Don't Mess with the Property Tax.
On March 23 the Metro Atlanta Mayors Association (MAMA) will co-sponsor the Fifth Annual "Georgia Rides to the Capitol" event to raise support for the development of a regional-scale bicycle network of both on-road facilities and multi-use-trails, and cycling connections focused around major transit facilities, activity centers and schools.Metro-area mayors and council members are encouraged to participate in the bike ride, which will have routes departing from the cities of Roswell and Decatur.
"The ride to the Capitol is my favorite bicycle ride of the year," said Roswell Mayor Jere Wood, who will lead the bicycle ride from Roswell. "It's not only fun, it's a great way to demonstrate to the state that there is strong support for bicycling in Georgia."
"Transportation is not just moving cars, it's about moving people," said Decatur City Commissioner Fred Boykin, owner of Bicycle South and one of the event organizers. "This year we are taking the ride further by pressing legislators to introduce legislation that will help make walking and bicycling safer and more accessible. The majority of vehicle trips are less than two miles which is an easy distance to bicycle. If we can keep improving our local infrastructure to make it safe and appealing to cycle instead of drive, then we can help reduce congestion, improve our air quality, and encourage a healthy way to travel."More than 1,000 bike enthusiasts are expected to join the ride that will culminate in a press conference on the Capitol steps with metro mayors and council members, state legislators and other state officials discussing the importance of funding for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and other alternative forms of transportation.
The bike ride is free and open to the public. Bicyclists are estimated to arrive at the Capitol at 11:40 a.m. The estimated departure time from originating cities are: Decatur at 10:45 a.m. and Roswell at 9:45 a.m.
For more information visit http://www.georgiaridestothecapitol.org/.
In the first outside commentary provided for the Georgia Municipal Association's (GMA) 2010 Connection web site, Geoff Anderson, President and CEO, Smart Growth America, says that "the fortunes of our country will rise and fall with the fates of our cities and metropolitan areas" and that "states that are allies and partners in helping cities prosper - creating a rising tide to lift all boats - will be the models of success." He goes on to cite the fact that most economic activity is found in cities, be they large or small and that states should give these areas "the tools and funding they need to succeed." Read the entire commentary, Healthy Cities Key to Future Prosperity.
Harry Moroz's article in The Atlantic, Mayors vs. Governors, highlights the perspective that the nation's first big-city president in years still needs to do more for our urban centers. The beef? That the recent stimulis package favored states as opposed to the needs of our urban centers, the places where much of our nation's GDP is created.
During the bill’s conception, mayors stressed that a state-focused stimulus would bring slow, inefficient results, and that more jobs could be created if money were funneled directly to urban areas. In a report issued last winter, the U.S. Conference of Mayors listed more than 15,000 “ready-to-go” projects that could provide 1.2 million new jobs in just two years.
So what happened, exactly? “I think we were listened to,” says Stamford, Connecticut, Mayor Dannel Malloy, who will run for governor of his state as a Democrat in 2010. “I just think we were then ignored. And I don’t think we were necessarily ignored by the president. I think we were ignored by the Congress.” Vice President Biden, the stimulus sheriff, has echoed this explanation. In a September speech on the stimulus, he lamented that “Congress, in its wisdom, decided that the governors should have a bigger input.”
Making Suburbia More Livable ran in the Wall Street Journal in September (I don't know if it is an online article only or if it appeared in the print version as well) that looked at how communities are attempting to make it easier for retirees to live in them. Fayetteville was featured.
The premise of the article is that suburbs are great places to grow-up in, but they're tough to grow old in. But according to an AARP study cited in the article, 85% of surveyed individuals aged 50 plus don't want to move and would like to remain in the communities as long as possible.
What's a city to do? Fayetteville Mayor Ken Steele offered his perspective.
"Every small community has the same problem," says Mr. Steele, age 69. "We want residents to be able to age in place, to meet their needs…here, without having to move away."
To that end, he indicates on the map how a new street grid could reduce traffic in the center of town and help Fayetteville become a "walking community"; how new town homes and condominiums, in an area where single-family homes have long been the norm, could give residents of all ages more housing options; and how new greenways and parks could promote social interaction.
"Lenders, landowners, developers—they're all talking now," Mr. Steele says of the project. "We really can't afford to wait."
The article goes on to talk about the efforts of the ARC to work with local officials, developers, architects, etc. to create places where people can stay once they get older. In Fayetteville, the plan to retrofit the community hopes to incorporate new "greenway paths," new transportation options for shopping and health-care as well as better linkeages between neighborhoods. And there is more:
Then there's the showstopper: taking a 38-acre undeveloped site that in the past might have supported 38 single-family homes, and wedging in more than 200 housing units, including town homes and condominiums, around a neighborhood square. For older Fayetteville residents with large homes, it could be an attractive option for remaining in the community.
That kind of development and density are "unheard of" in the Fayetteville area, says Jan Trammell, a local builder and developer. But "we can't keep doing what we've been doing," she adds.
"Space is something we thought we had to have" in the suburbs, says Ms. Trammell, age 74. "But we can't afford that today—time-wise or money-wise. Putting a single house on a one-acre lot means more street in front of that house, longer electric and gas lines to run to the house, more yard and shrubs to cut, and a bigger property-tax bill for the owners. We're all tired of that. I know I am."
The metro Atlanta region will continue to grow and cities continue to be leaders in producing innovative and sustainable development projects—those points were among the news revealed during the Atlanta Regional Commission’s annual State of the Region breakfast on Nov. 20 at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Read more...
Last year the Georgia Municipal Association, where I work as Manager of Online Communications, started an online project called City Upon a Hill: Reflections on the Value of Cities, where we asked people (some city officials as well as others) to explore and highlight the value that Georgia's cities and towns bring to our state.
It was a fun project to work on and all of the submissions we received were very good. But the one reflection that stands out the most to me is the one that Rep. Stacey Abrams, a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, did for us. If you don't know, she represents parts of Atlanta and Decatur.
Below are a few insights about cities from her reflection.
"The beauty of the city lies in a remarkable inability to choose isolation. Instead, the city is built by knitting together neighborhoods made stronger by a sharing of experiences."
"Whether the population is five hundred, five thousand or five hundred thousand, a city is strongest, most vibrant, when it seeks to highlight the power of joined forces."
"Without cities, we are loose confederations of individuals with aspirations and hopes. As cities, we are dynamic, energetic forces for soaring achievement, driven by the engine of that most precious resource – our people."
Well written and dead-on, I think.
I invite you to read Rep. Abrams entire essay, or listen to her read it, and to see what others had to say about Georgia cities and towns.
Gubernatorial candidate DuBose Porter’s answers to GMA’s 2010 election questionnaire are now online. Porter is currently a member of Georgia House of Representatives from Dublin.
When asked about what he would do to help cities to create environments "ripe for investment and economic acivity," he responded:
As governor, my priorities will be growing our economy and creating jobs. One way to do that is by partnering with local governments and ending the adversarial relationship that has existed over the last several years with the state. The state must do its part by strengthening our K-12 schools, technical colleges, community colleges, and universities; improving our state-wide water and transportation infrastructure; and accepting progressive technology methods.
Read all of Porter's answers to GMA's questionnaire.
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The Georgia Municipal Association just unveiled it's 2010 Connection web site. As GMA explains on the web site:
The restoration of a strong and trusting state-local partnership is an underlying theme for city officials interested in the outcome of the 2010 gubernatorial election. To get this message across, GMA has embarked on an aggressive and ambitious effort to connect with all candidates so that issues important to cities are not lost in the noise of the campaign rhetoric.
GMA invites you to visit now until next year's election next year to see and hear what the candidates for Governor have to say about the issues important to Georgia's cities.
Right now we have responses to a GMA questionnaire from three lessor known candidates (Carl Camon, Robert Ingham and Matthew Jamison). Look for a better known candidate's repsponses Monday morning. Also available now is a brief video of Eric Johnson (R) speaking to the issue of state-local partnerships and commentary from DuBose Porter (D) concerning sales tax collections and home rule.
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