SPLOST: Cobb Taxpayer Association is Bunch of Hypocrites

You can't have your cake and eat it too. Apparently, the Cobb Taxpayer Association thinks they can. My advice, is not to take this organization seriously.

In an article posted on the AGJ, it talks about how the Cobb Taxpayer Association is against the SPLOST being used for maintenance. In fact, for the last SPLOST, about 30% was used for maintenance projects in disguise. I agree that it shouldn't.

However, that was done to shift the tax burden away from property tax owners and to sales tax which at least shifts some of the burden to people from outside our county. Eliminate the SPLOST, and we'll need to cover the maintenance on our property taxes. I'm not interested in doing that. At least with the SPLOST, if we have a tough month, we can spend less and get taxed less.

Furthermore, what is extremely shocking is their hypocritical stance: They don't like SPLOST funds being used to cover maintenance and will therefore oppose the SPLOST, yet they oppose a capital project that isn't maintenance. Namely, they oppose the BRT.

Furthermore, for the entire county, the BRT could end up saving money by concentrating future development into the Cobb Parkway corridor and preventing additional costly development elsewhere that requires significant road upgrades. That concept is called "Smart growth". The BRT would effectively link the whole Cobb Pkwy corridor into the second largest commercial office district in the metro area, after in-town Atlanta and would attract a lot of business and jobs. Much of the transit-oriented development would reduce the tax burden on other residents. It would make us competitive once again, and it would disproportionally

So, that's a third reason why the Cobb Taxpayer Association is hypocritical, since BRT and the associated transit-oriented development it would bring would decrease the millage rate on taxpayers in the long-run.

Many Smyrna residents in particular are already discussing how upset they are about opposition to the BRT. There's good reason for Smyrna residents to be upset. Beyond the reasons above I mentioned for Cobb as a whole, the BRT would disproportionately be an economic boost and increase land values in Smyrna. It also aligns with the more urban feel Smyrna is working to achieve in the downtown area of Smyrna, as it works towards infilling the area between Concord Rd and Windy Hill with high-value development.

Finally, another reason for Smyrna residents to disregard the Cobb Taxpayer Association is totally unrelated to anything above: Not voting for the SPLOST would jeopardize the Windy Hill Boulevard concept, which is important for extending the economic revitalization of downtown Smyrna further north and improving the character and quality of life of Smyrna.