Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE 10 A BARROW JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2008 Tax incentive continued from 1A Budget crunch continued from 1A Graham was also critical of giving such a tax break on speculation projects where no imme diate jobs are being created. “I think it's unusual for a tax abatement to be given to a developer for a spec facility that does not have a tenant lined up,” she said. Braselton doesn’t levy a town property tax, so Barrow’s incentive deal with Commonwealth won’t directly impact the town’s budget. Barrow County wasn’t required to notify Braselton officials about the deal and Graham said she only learned about it after the fact. But she questioned whether or not Barrow County required the firm to pass the tax sav ings along to potential tenants through lower rental rates, or if the developers would be free to pocket the tax savings. Graham was also critical that Barrow agreed to the deal after the building was almost finished and wasn’t a real incentive to lure the project to the area. Since the project was already there, no deal was necessary, she argues. “Braselton is a desirable location that mar kets very well and tax incentives are not always sought by prospective businesses choosing to locate here,’’ she said. “PetCo, Home Depot, Whole Foods and Progressive Lighting have all chosen Braselton for its existing attributes and tax abatements were not necessary to bring these great businesses and new jobs to our community.” OFFERED TO ALL Barrow JDA attorney John Stell said the bond deal for Commonwealth is the same as is offered to all businesses requesting industrial financing from the authority. The structure of the deal with a seven-year phase-in of a lease hold interest tax is based on an “agreed to formula” that has been used in Barrow County for a number of years, Stell said. The same kind of financing has also been made available to both larger and smaller proj ects in the county. At the same Nov. 5 meeting where the Commonwealth deal was voted on by the JDA, the group also approved a $40 million bond package for the Schutz Container Systems project in Auburn. At the other end, the JDA had earlier this fall approved a smaller $3.6 million bond issue for the construction of Bethlehem Christian Academy, a private elementary and middle school. OTHERS MORE SELECTIVE While Barrow has a rather liberal tax incen tives approach, some other nearby counties Holiday events have stricter rules. In Jackson County, tax incentives aren’t offered on speculative projects, said Industrial Development Authority Scott Martin. Jackson County doesn’t offer tax incentives on every project and each proposal for an incentives package is looked at individually for how many and what types of jobs would be created and other factors, he said. When Jackson County does do tax abate ments, Martin said they are structured mostly for a five-year phase-in with payments made by the company each year in lieu of taxes. Typically, Jackson County requires the phase in to start at 20 percent and phase in to 100 percent at the end of five years. In addition, Jackson County almost never abates school taxes, requiring firms to pay 100 percent of what they would have paid in local school taxation. Gwinnett County made its incentives pack age a little more liberal earlier this year when it amended a county economic development ordi nance that governs the process. Now Gwinnett has certain pay and job thresholds in place and unless the firm is locating in a Community Improvement District, it has to provide a “net economic benefit” of at least $250,000 to the county. Gwinnett uses a financial model devel oped by Georgia Tech to analyze incentives being offered to prospective businesses. And if a firm doesn’t follow through on its part of the deal, Gwinnett has a “claw back” provision to have the company pay back part of the incen tives it had been given. The local chambers of commerce and their economic development arms do most of the industrial recruiting and marketing in all three counties, but the final decisions on tax abate ments and other incentives are up to the local governments involved. The bond validation hearing for the Commonwealth project is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Dec. 1 in Barrow County Superior Court. Barrow County Tax Abatement Formula Year Taxes paid 1 5% 2 10% 3 15% 4 25% 5 40% 6 55% 7 80% 8 100% continued from 1A “When we sing, ‘Silver Bells’ with the line ‘city side walks, busy sidewalks,’ that’s the moment of the official lighting, and every night until Christmas, the lights will be on.” Santa Claus will arrive atop a convertible from Akins Ford in Winder. He’ll greet the community and then sit down to hear children’s Christmas wishes. Young people from the Auburn Dixie Youth will pho tograph the children’s visits with Santa. The first photo is free. Also this weekend, there will be two holiday concerts in the Colleen O. Williams Theater inside the Winder Cultural Arts center on East Athens Street. The concerts will be Friday, Nov. 28, and Saturday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. and will fea ture Carroll Brown, an acous tic musician and local favorite. Co-produced with the Winder Noon Lion’s Club, this concert will raise funds for the pur- chased from a Noon Lions chase of tactical safety vests for Club Member or at the Winder the Winder Police Department. Police Department, Winder The $15 tickets may be pur- City Hall and at the door. Patti Friends Holiday Sale Art | Food | Music j Local Artists & National Designers | 10-70% off SK«* F Tracy St. Friday, Dec. 5 7 a.m.-8 p.m. I Saturday, Dec. 6 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. 55 Nantahala Ave. Sunday, Dec. 7 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Prince Ave. Aurora Glass Art : 706-548-4341 patti@aurorafusedglass.com Chase St. Warehouses, 160 Tracy St. Athens, GA Have you met our new physicians? Dr. Altaf Aman and Dr. Sheryl Wiles have joined med|link * WINDER 563 Jefferson Highway Winder, Ga „ ( naV' >e .opoWW^L ca'" 09 ^,1 && rro-s 61 Dr. Wiles and Dr Aman are Certified in Family Medicine and see patients of all ages MedLink - Winder accepts Medicaid—including all managed care options, Medicare, State Health Benefit Plan and most insurance programs. A sliding fee program may assist patients who qualify based on proof of income and household size. Any supplemental tax bills in this fiscal year, admittedly a last resort, would be sent only if the state does not reimburse counties for the $8,000 home stead exemptions, Lee said. That exemption represents a tax credit of about $222 in areas paying the county’s and schools’ combined millage rate of 27.838. County officials in Barrow and around Georgia are hoping the General Assembly will not endorse the governor’s cost saving measure. State legislators included the $428 million homestead exemp tion funding in the state’s fiscal year 2009 budget. To back out of that commit ment would require passage of a budget amendment, said Clint Mueller, legislative director of the Association of County Commissioners. “Every legislator I have discussed this with (quite a few) has pledged full support to leave the funding for the credit... in the 2009 budget,” Mueller wrote in an email to the Barrow Journal. He said the governor legally could withhold appropriated funds for only six months. That period ends at the end of December. Asked if the counties can legally send out two tax bills in one year, Mueller said: “We think so, however, our attor neys are researching a recent court case that may give us more guidance. The full taxes owed were not billed because the state promised to reimburse a portion of each homestead tax bill... If the state fails to pay a portion of the homeowner’s tax bill, then the taxes are still owned by the homeowner.” Barrow County Commission Chairman Doug Garrison said the county is not planning to send a second tax bill at this point. “We are not planning a sec ond billing or layoffs,” he said. “We have reduced hiring and are in the savings mode fast and furious.” Garrison, who with three other members lost his bid for re-election, said all his board can do at this point is to come up with sound recommenda tions for the new board to con sider in January. “We want to be able to give our best recommendations to the new board,” Garrison said. Hospital lawsuit continued from 1A The hearing was part of a judicial review of the decision by the Georgia Department of Community Health to grant NGMC a “certificate of need” for the new hospital. That decision was endorsed by an administrative hearing officer in December 2007 and by the State Health Planning Review Board in February. Basarrate said the issue before the court was the final decision of the review board. “As the review board found, the South Hall project is nec essary to meet an overwhelm ing need for new hospital beds and to meet the specific needs of South Hall residents for more accessible hospital ser vices, particularly the need for hospital emergency room services,” Basarrate argued. But Michael Bowers, attor ney for BRMC, told the judge that all of those approvals were based on faulty data. He said the NGMC’s analy sis of the potentially adverse impact of the new hospital on Barrow Regional was submit ted only nine days before the state agency issued the new facility’s certificate of need. Bowers argued that the find ing of “no adverse impact” on the Winder hospital was based on faulty assumptions. He said the analysis states the new hospital would have the same percentage of patients from Barrow County that the hos pital in Gainesville now has - 2.8 percent - even though the Braselton facility would be half the distance away, only 11 miles from Winder. “I think that’s preposter ous,” Bowers said. Bowers said the state agency staff didn’t question that assumption, which was critical to the finding of no adverse impact, and that a top state health official during an earlier hearing testified, “I guess he assumed it was reasonable.” Bowers said that was simply “guessing and assuming.” OUZTS Chevrolet Company B Goodwrench ] Goodwrench Oil Change $ * o" | I E Tr +Tax ' Oil change with up to 5 qts. of GM Goodwrench quality oil, install an ACDELCO oil filter, complete chassis lube, check fluid levels, inspect belts, filters hoses and tire . pressure. Pricing could vary for some makes and models. Valid on most GM Vehicles. k 127W. May St., Winder • 770-867-3151 EVANS JEWEL BOX “Doumtoum Winder” INVENTORY CLEARANCE SALE 40% ■ 60% OFF! CLOSING OUT All China, Silver, Crystal, and Giftware INCLUDING: Waterford, Arthur Court, Lenox and ALL Christmas Giftware. With deep sadness we are closing out our Bridal and Giftware Departments which have been a tradition at Evans Jewel Box for over 50 years. All Daimond Jewelry, Watches, Earrings, Bracelets, Cultured Pearls, Honora and Lorenzo. 20% - 40% OFF h 0 ® Jf oF as! C Hn sttTl - Please Come In And Register For: • 1/2 Ct. Diamond Pendant • $250 Gift Certificate 1/2 Ct. Pair Of Diamond Earrings • $100 Gift Certificate No purchase necessary. To be given away December 24, 2008. Must be 18 to win. e'fice 55 N. Broad St. • Downtown Winder 770-867-3761