Raise the Bus Fare? Take a Penny From Hotel Motel Tax? Find More Criminals?

The FY14 budget for Athens Clarke County says a lot about what the Athens Clarke County community is like. At a Thursday night work session, the ACC Commissioners listened as Manager Allan Reddish outlined the budget, then asked him questions about various items.

Consider:

* We have learned not to run the red light at Cherokee/Gaines School and Lexington Highway. The traffic cameras, which photographed cars as they barreled through the intersection when the light was red, snaps a photo of license plates. Anyone running the light gets a $70 ticket. The program, which includes another camera at Alps/Hawthorne and Atlanta Highway, has been so effective in changing behavior that it's running a $98,000 deficit. Oh, and the number of tickets at Alps was 1,500 last year, compared to two at Gaines School, which has had the cameras long.

* We are buying more stuff, other than food and prescriptions. SPLOST (the special purpose local option sales tax) revenues have increased $500,000, or 4 percent, over last year. This signals that sales are recovering from the Recession. Reddish told the Commissioners that it's going to take a year before the effects are known about changes in car registration rules.

* The real estate tranfer tax is up, a signal that more houses are being sold. We're buying about the same amount of beer and wine as last year--a lot. And there's been a slight increase in the number of licenses for serving alcohol. We're driving and shopping downtown more because parking fees are up. And we're driving better because the number of traffic citations issued is down.

* More residents are using cell phones and doing without land lines. This means there's a $102,000 deficit for 911 service. The county can no longer support the 911 system with the monthly fee tacked on phone bills.

* Another sign that the economy is improving? More money is being spent on inspections for commercial buildings.

* Commissioners plan to discuss further these topics, among others: the new tennis center; the bus fares and transit system routes; tours at, and general use of, the Lyndon House; Central Services; the library; the hotel/motel tax; funding a corridor study for Atlanta Highway; putting lightning detectors on Little League and soccer fields.

The next budget-related meeting for the Mayor and Commission is May 14th at 5:30pm in the Dougherty Street government building.