This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

District 4 Commissioner Race Candidate Proposal for Lowering Taxes and Economically Empowering South Cobb County

Cobb County Commissioner District 4 Candidate Dr. Rhett plan to •Economically empower a united South Cobb County's District 4 •Lower taxes •Promote form based zoning for our communities

Issues from the Cobb County / NAACP Televised Commissioner District 4 Debate to Economically Empower Our Community

The televised debate for Cobb County Commissioner District 4 was not televised because one of the candidates was not in attendance. However the candidate debate went on before the studio audience and was filmed.

 

Find out what's happening in South Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During the debate sponsored by the Cobb NAACP

Dr. Rhett outlined his plan to

Find out what's happening in South Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Economically empower a united South Cobb County's District 4
  • Lower taxes
  • Promote form based zoning to enhance our communities future development. 

You can read the plan below:

 

Dr. Rhett's Campaign to Economically

Empower a United South Cobb County


January 2012

We need an economic vision that will do the following:

  • Lower Taxes
  • Form Base Zoning to develop communities
  • Promote Jobs by investing in the community.

Micro Economics: the study of how households & business firms make decisions and interact with the markets.

 

Let's look at the circular flow of economics and how it affects our communities. 

 

Money needs to turn over several times, exchange hands, (reinvested) in the community before leaving the community. It then becomes vested in our well being.

 

Pressed down shaken together and running over!

 

Currently in our communities once a person spends a dollar it immediately exit our community and is taken to the community of the store owner and invested. We need to make sure that the money is invested in our community.

 

Six Flags brings in millions of dollars and very little of that tourism money enters the Six Flags Community.

 

How do we invest money in our home communities?

 

Example:

You put an offering in the church, the church takes the money to pay a painter in the community to paint the church, the painter goes to the barbershop and gets a haircut, the barber goes to the grocery store to buy food, the grocery store owner goes to the auto repair shop, the mechanic goes to the gym, the fitness instructor goes to the nail salon, the nail salon attendant puts the money in Sunday's church offering.

 

The money becomes vested in the community several times and helps several people in our community.

 

This promotes employment, jobs, and stabilizes a community because we are all directly investing.

 

How to get business to commit to investing in our community?

 

When a community has reached the end of its economic cycle or start to exhibit blight, we can encourage reinvestment by creating a TAD (Tax Allocation District)

 

Definitions:

 Economic cycle end or exhibit blight - Building property that is assessed at 50% less than the neighboring buildings or no longer utilized to its previous potential.

 

Tax Allocation District-A study on how much additional property tax funds can be received if an area is redeveloped. A flat tax is set. As the commercial property value increases any additional tax revenue received over that flat tax rate is reinvested into the community further developing infrastructure, parks, or sidewalks etc. This is how businesses commit to invest in a community and become a part of the circular flow of economics.

 

We can also promote BID (Business Improvement Districts)

 

Definition:

 

Business Improvement Districts: is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund improvements within the district's boundaries.

 

The businesses in the community pay an additional millage which is used to initially invest in infrastructure, parks, walking trails, sidewalks, etc. This can attracts investments from others sources to supplement the rest of the projects cost. Now businesses are investing in the community and are committed to its future success. This is how business commit to invest in our communities and become a part of the circular flow of economics.

 

Incentives to encourage Business to Invest in the Community

 

Opportunity Zones - Highly distressed urban and rural communities who may be eligible for a combination of grants, tax credits for businesses that relocate to the area. The area usually has about 15% poverty rate.

 

EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy)

A nonprofit that would help schools develops a curriculum that is receptive to the needs of perspective business and aggressively market Cobb County's availability for business to locate

 

Community Choices Program which helps cities develop business permit process that is business friendly.

 

How this does affects our taxes?

 

When businesses are doing well, they can help to share the property tax burden with the residential property homeowner. Most of the property tax burden is not carried on the residential homeowner. The millage from property taxes supports our county bond, county general services, parks and recreation, facilities, fire, police and schools.

 

Eventually the residential property owner's millage can be reduced because businesses find it suitable to relocate and invest in our community.

 

The business property value increase and brings in tax revenue, because of the TAD & BID, streamlined business permit process, tax credits,

 

Also, people are employed.

 

As communities develop we would encourage form base zoning. This make it easier to conform to a communities desire to grow instead of being micro-managed by standard conventional codes.

 

(Don't Forget Dr. Michael Rhett)

Website

DRRhettforcommissioner.com 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?