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2A -FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS-SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1987 TAXcontinued from page 1 because a property tax increase is re quired to repay them, officials said. Bonds must be approved by city and county voters in a referendum similar to the sales tax vote, and officials say that voters would be more reluctant to approve the former than the latter. A straight tax increase through raising the city and county millage rate is also out of the question, city and county officials said. The in crease required to pay for the $22 mil lion system would more than double the current millage rate for county maintenence and operation. “If you went on the straight millage rate, you’d have an increase in the neighborhood of seven to eight mills,” said County Administrator Ralph Roberts, who is on a three-week leave of absence to promote the sales tax. “If you go straight general obligation bond, there’d be an increase of about two mills for the 20-year repayment period.” Roberts added that local residents would be responsible for the full $22 million under either property tax measure, but that the total bill would be divided between residents and visi tors under the sales tax program, with non-locals picking up $8 million of the tab. A third funding source available to Georgia county governments is reve nue bonds, but local officials say this alternative is logistically impossible for the water sytem. Revenue bonds are sold to investors who pay for installation of a system and hope for eventual profits when us ers hook up. But because the county water system has few customers and isn’t yet netting a profit, investors would be uninterested, according to Roberts and City Manager Gerald Blackburn, who is also on leave of ab sence to promote passage of the sales tax. Raising user fees to yield a profit attractive to investors would cause a consumer backlash, Blackburn said, “and run us completely out of the wa ter business because rates would run so high, no one would tap on.” In the absence of local fundng, the only water lines put in the ground would be those installed by develop ers, officials said. Currently, develop ers are required to run water lines through sites they construct, deed those lines to the county, then recoup up to 70 percent of their expenses by collecting a portion of tap-on fees for sale! *299 "SUBURBAN" Reclina-Rocker Recliner Give a gift they'll open more than once. This deep-tufted design is as luxurious as it looks. sale! *349 "DANBURY" Reclina-Rocker Recliner You'll be remembered for giving this gift of comfort whenever it's time to settle back and relax. sale! *399 “AVENGER” Reclina-Rocker' Recliner A design that’s sleekly styled and softly cushioned to pamper your special someone in total luxury three years. Officials caution that water lines in stalled by developers are only re quired to supply the development site, not existing neighborhoods around it. Another drawback cited by devel opers is that their attention, and therefore their water lines, are con centrated in the southern part of the Spectacular savings on 4 of our best-selling recliners! LA Y-A WA Y TIL CHRISTMAS STONE FURNITURE CO. COURTHOUSE SQU ARE - CUMMING - 887-2447 county where growth is most rapid. The time span required before differ ent developers string water lines into the northern portion could mean a long wait with no guarantee where the lines will provide service. “The county has guidelines for us, but if those guidelines call for a 12- inch line, that’s probably what the de- veloper will put in,” said local resi dent and developer Carol McGregor. “He’s not likely to go beyond that re quirement and put in a 30-inch line be cause that much water will be needed in a few years. The developer simply isn’t going to do it for what may be the use of someone else tying in years down the road.” Christmas Lay-away SALE Winner lor family fun Champ jvfk m JySgjSjS YAMAHA OF CANTON We make the difference TM Sandy Hook Shopping Center, Canton Ga 479-4501 479-3340 •Complete Shop Facilities ‘Parts and Accessories •Motorcycle Insurance O OS MTI OX Continued from page 1 opponents who say they know of no organized campaign against the sales tax measure. Residents say they are afraid that stretching 200 miles of water mains across the county and pushing mil lions of gallons of water through those lines with a system of hydraulics and pumping stations will lure more peo ple and industry to the county. The ensuing growth would destroy the small town lifestyle of the county, those opposed say. Part of the concern is over the ac tions of developers. W.P. Warren, who lives in the growth-oriented southern portion of the county, said he feels developers will manipulate the placement of water lines to their advantage. Lines installed by developers in the absence of a county water system have bypassed Warren’s road en route to other subdivisions or industri al developments on two occasions, he said. He suspects political favoritism influenced where those lines went, and he fears the same will occur with the $22 million water system local offi cials have proposed. Warren isn’t without company. Lo cal attorney Lynwood Jordan said his opposition to the water system isn’t over need or financing, but over management. “I would be in favor of the sales tax and water system, but $22 million is a lot of money to play games and poli tics with,” Jordan said. “Unless it’s done in an evenhanded, orderly, open manner, it would be dangerous.” Citing manpower shortages in the tax assessors and tax commissioners offices that have resulted in underas sessed property and backlogs of un paid taxes, Jordan said city and coun ty officials would have to “set their everyday affairs in order” before he would support a water system that Christmas sneaking up on you... and you don't want to owe your soul come the New Year? Have a yard sale Put it in the Classifieds! The trottle limiter on the Yamaha Champ lets you con trol the engine’s top speed. You can reset it as your skills progress. Pushbutton electric starter, shaft drive, low seat height and front suspension for convenience and comfort. Start out right on a Champ. $ 1 325°° plus tax $f f94* I UWW | month No Down Payment Free Helmet n( Financing Available would bring with it even mol responsibility. Jordan said a master plan outlini™ current and future land use woufl keep water lines from being installed for inappropriate reasons. He su9 gested that withholding sales tax re\l enues, if the measure passes, until thl master plan is in place would makl the issue more palatable. But officials disagree. Engineering plans for the water system werl based on data that the Georgia Moun tains Area Planning and Develop ment Commission will include in th< master plan expected out this spring a fact officials cite as evidence that water lines will follow the plan. Officials also point out that an even distribution of water across the coun ty would balance growth and prevent it from overrunning a particular area. Property values, too, would be more even, preventing tax dichotomies, of ficials said. Though developers have remained professionally aloof from the sales tax issue, their private sentiments bristle at allegations that the measure was devised with them in mind. “In the past developers have been able to use laying water lines as the carrot to get unreasonable zonings,” said Carol McGregor of Outdoor De velopment. “That’s why it’s so much better if the county is in charge of the water line infrastructure than if de velopers are in charge of it. If the county is laying the lines, the county has control.” McGregor and other developers who work in Forsyth County say they would feel little financial impact from a positive sale tax vote. Developers will still be responsible for running water lines into their developments and for tying those lines into the coun ty system. 887-3126