Georgia County Government - April 2009 - (Page 15) CountyMatters We Are In This Together By Jerry Griffin Executive Director We’re all in this together. Neither the state nor local governments created this mess, but we are certainly the ones that have to keep society together. he economy continues to flounder with unemployment continuing to grow as the stock market just refuses to stabilize. The initial frustration with the economy has turned to anger as the excesses of many business leaders, particularly those who created the crisis, come into focus. Many people who were enjoying a comfortable life a year ago are now seeking ways to cut corners. Looking back, it’s easy to wonder how this could possibly happen in the United States, the epicenter of capitalization and the free market system. When we get beyond the blame game between the two political parties we can begin to focus on the real problem. The cause of this crisis is as old as mankind, and it’s not a complicated concept. It’s pure greed, and the response of the President and Congress is key to rebuilding the economy. Clearly the response to the crisis is way above the responsibility of Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) and county commissioners, but in recent years commissioners have been experiencing many problems as a result of what seems to be the biggest causes of the current crisis—housing and the prices that were being paid for land and homes as a result of mortgage loan underwriting practices. The rationale was relatively simple. Get people in housing at no cost and with mortgage payments as high as could be afforded, and then count on rapidly rising home values to cover the debt. After all, if one ran into trouble, he could just sell the house, pay off the debt and take the profits. So, how were county commissioners impacted? With mortgages easy to obtain, home purchasers bidded up the price of real estate, resulting in higher property values for everyone, since the state’s sales ratio study looks at actual sales in an area and the county’s values must meet these values. The T problems having resulted are clearly seen in legislation proposed for the past several years. ACCG has, for years, called for a comprehensive review of the local tax structure to see that it is fair and equitable, but that has not been done. Instead, we have seen an array of piecemeal approaches that seek to actually destroy the local tax structure at a time the needs of our communities are at their highest. The national and world economic problems will, in my opinion, be resolved, but in the meantime we have to ensure that local communities are maintained and that Georgia remains ready to take advantage of the economic turnaround when it comes. If local communities don’t maintain their infrastructure and quality of life benchmark, the recent tax breaks announced by the state will have no impact. Tax policy is certainly important, but so are the “inputs” to any economic project that come from communities and schools. If local communities can’t provide utilities, public safety, local transportation infrastructure, health systems and provisions such as open space, parks and recreation and a sense of place, quality of life is lost. There must also be a workforce ready for the jobs we have, today, and without strong schools, technical colleges and universities, we will not succeed either. County commissioners, city officials and school officials are neither the foil nor enemy of the state. All local elected officials operate under policies adopted by the state, but the state should recognize that it takes the best efforts of everyone in these difficult economic times to keep Georgia ready to soar again as it has for the past several decades. We’re all in this together. Neither the state nor local governments created this mess, but we are certainly the ones that have to keep society together as Congress and the President seek the big solutions. ■ APRIL 2009 www.accg.org 15 http://www.accg.org
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