Dear Editor,
I am writing about the proposed development and the 19-year (15 plus 4) tax abatement. If the commissioners are not aware of how the taxpayers feel, I will give everyone some insight on why the taxpayers are so adamantly against the tax abatement.
1. This is prime real estate in the county, and it will be developed without the need of a tax abatement.
2. The impact on the services of this county will be immense.We already do not have adequate policing in the county.Two officers to cover the whole county at any given time is not enough coverage, especially during the summer months with all the short-term rentals and their parties disturbing the year-round residents.Our sheriff’s department is currently underfunded and understaffed.The fire department is also currently underfunded and understaffed.The impact on the school system has been covered in detail by the school board,so I do not need to go there.
I hope all of you have read the School Board analysis and the disastroussituation you will place on the Putnam County Educational System if you approve this abatement.Where will the funds come from to provide the necessary police, fire, and school services for this development if they are not required to pay taxes?A development of this size cannot be “absorbed” into the already stressed and overburdened services.
3. This development will add a minimum of 300 more cars to the Harmony/44 interchange. Our roads are in a deplorablestate and already unable to handle the existing traffic volume in that area. Additionally, you are adding additional roads for us to maintain without any additional revenue.
4. Overdevelopingthe area is another source of concern.The developments that are currentlybeing built on Harmony Road by Farriers Lane, Scott Road, and the corner of Old Phoenix and 44 willall provide housing and are within a two-mile radius of each other. Can this area sustain all these new houses, or will the four developments, that consist of 1,000 homes, do nothing more than flood the market and decrease the values of everyone’s homes in the area?
Additionally, these four developments will add an additional 2,000 to 3,000 more vehicles a day to roads that simply cannot handle the volume. This estimate is not even taking into account the hotel under construction on Collis Road, the new shopping center being cleared at Thunder Valley, or the other new home developments further up Old Phoenix Road.
5. The Putnam Development Authority should not have the authority to affect the tax base of the county.
In this instance, the PDA has a conflict of interest.They will receive direct payments from the developer in the form of “Pilot Payments.” Why is the PDA allowed to provide tax abatements while they are profiting from the deal? The PDA believes “most of the community is in favor of this project.” That is incorrect.
6. Providing a 19-year tax abatement to a for-profit developer while at the same time asking your tax base (aka “voters”) to approve SPLOST 10, is nothing more than a slap in the face and demonstrates how completely out of touch you are with your constituents.
These are just some of the reasons why people are against providing a tax abatement. Why should we be responsible for ensuring they make their profit margin? Ihave spoken with a ton of people about this development and the only people who are for it have something to gain.
Each and every one of you were voted in to protect the interest of Putnam County, the taxpayers, and property values. Allowing so much overdevelopment and giving away future tax revenue while overburdening our critical services, you are not doing what you were elected to do, and you are putting SPLOST 10 at jeopardy.
Respectfully, Tracy Hall Putnam County