The numbers game
In a lot of these discussions about economic development, some folks keep throwing around the numbers '$100,000 vs. $2.5 million' with the former being the meager amount of money they claim the local government has put up for economic development compared to the latter which is the money set aside for greenspace. The problem with this comparison is that the numbers are a tad misleading.
The greenspace total stems from a 2004 SPLOST referendum (one which passed with more than 70 percent of the vote). This money is dedicated to those specific purposes only and is not part of the general operating fund of Athens-Clarke County. It's misleading to compare funds which have a predetermined purpose, are tied solely to that purpose and depend on an entirely different source of revenue than money which is set aside by the Athens-Clarke County Commission from general revenues.
Compared to the other communities, such as Cobb County (which I think we all would agree is a bit more conservative than Athens-Clarke County), we actually spend less on greenspace. More than 70 percent of the voters in Cobb County voted to approve $40 million in bonds for greenspace.
Furthermore, if folks are so upset over the sheer size of the greenspace number, than they should be pleased with our community's economic output, shouldn't they? Particularly seeing how this money is tied to the spending habits and economic health of our community.
The $100,000 is what Athens-Clarke County contributes to EDF, and it's actually $125,000 a year. The local government is a member of this group (one dedicated to encouraging diverse economic development) along with other partners (for instance, the UGA Research Foundation and the Industrial Development Authority) and contributes the most money to it.
Likewise, since this whole thing has rapidly devolved to a 'local government vs. Chamber' debate, I think it's important to note that the Chamber is no longer a member of this particular organization because it has failed to met its annual commitment the past four years, despite the fact their dues were sliced in half last year with the previous year written off just to accommodate them.
Regarding economic development funds, the general operating budget featured more than $1 million set aside for recruiting and enhancing local economic development. Granted that's less than the $2.5 million for greenspace, and some folks will surely criticize that fact as well, but I also think, as I expressed earlier, those comparisons are invalid. The only way one could say they're on the same level would be if the $2.5 million came from the general operating fund based on a decision of the local government.
The greenspace total stems from a 2004 SPLOST referendum (one which passed with more than 70 percent of the vote). This money is dedicated to those specific purposes only and is not part of the general operating fund of Athens-Clarke County. It's misleading to compare funds which have a predetermined purpose, are tied solely to that purpose and depend on an entirely different source of revenue than money which is set aside by the Athens-Clarke County Commission from general revenues.
Compared to the other communities, such as Cobb County (which I think we all would agree is a bit more conservative than Athens-Clarke County), we actually spend less on greenspace. More than 70 percent of the voters in Cobb County voted to approve $40 million in bonds for greenspace.
Furthermore, if folks are so upset over the sheer size of the greenspace number, than they should be pleased with our community's economic output, shouldn't they? Particularly seeing how this money is tied to the spending habits and economic health of our community.
The $100,000 is what Athens-Clarke County contributes to EDF, and it's actually $125,000 a year. The local government is a member of this group (one dedicated to encouraging diverse economic development) along with other partners (for instance, the UGA Research Foundation and the Industrial Development Authority) and contributes the most money to it.
Likewise, since this whole thing has rapidly devolved to a 'local government vs. Chamber' debate, I think it's important to note that the Chamber is no longer a member of this particular organization because it has failed to met its annual commitment the past four years, despite the fact their dues were sliced in half last year with the previous year written off just to accommodate them.
Regarding economic development funds, the general operating budget featured more than $1 million set aside for recruiting and enhancing local economic development. Granted that's less than the $2.5 million for greenspace, and some folks will surely criticize that fact as well, but I also think, as I expressed earlier, those comparisons are invalid. The only way one could say they're on the same level would be if the $2.5 million came from the general operating fund based on a decision of the local government.
posted by Jmac at 7:00 AM
3 Comments:
There is absolutely nothing wrong with 2.5 million for green space. We need to protect this county's resources so that this place is enjoyable for future generations.
The comparison is about priorities. Your assertion that the 2.5 million is splost funds and somehow less of being someone’s money is amusing. This county has taken people's money in a variety of ways and done dumb shit with it.
We shouldn’t be passing illegal ordinances and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars defending them in court. We shouldn’t be building multi-modal transportation complexes when we know that neither the train nor even the fucking Greyhound will be coming there. (If we really thought the train was coming here, where's the platform.) And if you truly love mercy, tell me why you support a government that refused to give a red cent to the homeless shelter in their time of need but then gushes over how the skate park is some sort of economic triumph.
Saying that Heidi and band have some no culpability in economic development failures simply because the Chamber did not pay their share is a stupid argument. The chamber has been reduced to a shitty social club and most people even remotely associated with it are well aware of that fact.
This election year is not Heidi vs. The Chamber as you would love it so much to be. This year is the pompous aging hippies, elitist and pseudo-progressive privillaged apologists who have become the very cronies they bitched about back in the good ole days VS. people who truly want a better Athens for the scores living in back breaking poverty with not fire station or city water or reliable bus service or , and most importantly, any voice in Heidi’s government.
Where did you get your numbers from?
First off ... Suburban Chaos ... great name.
Second, the priorities are irrelevant in this particular comparison, which is what I'm trying to stress. As SPLOST money, a list of items the money would be spent on was put out for the voting population of this community to approve, which they did overwhelming. You may disagree with the community's ranking of priorities, which is acceptable, but it's impossible to extend your disagreement to the local government's. Your problem, then, is with the more than 70 percent of the voting population which approved this particular SPLOST which featured money earmarked for greenspace preservation.
We shouldn’t be passing illegal ordinances and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars defending them in court. We shouldn’t be building multi-modal transportation complexes when we know that neither the train nor even the fucking Greyhound will be coming there.
OK, but now you're shifting the debate. In the first point you make, you move to ordinances. If you disagree with the ordinances that's one thing (truth be told, I've said several times there are ordinances that I don't like), and that's a whole different discussion. We might even find some common ground there on some issues, because even though I support Davison's re-election bid, it doesn't mean I'm hunky-dorey with all the steps she's taken (and, to her credit, she knows and respects that in email exchanges we have over said disagreements).
For the latter point, well, we'll just have to wait and see how the multi-model transporation center works out (this is, quite frankly, a rather odd criticism seeing how most parties in this community think it was a good idea).
Regarding the homeless shelter, I think you're overstating the ability the local government has to address this particular problem. First off, there's the issue of precedent, while second there are only certain pools of money the government could draw from to assist. The government did advocate on the shelter's behalf, but its hands were tied as far as giving money.
With regard to that, the commission initiated a review of its policy of rewarding Community Development Block Grants and made good progress in that front ... progress we'll see implemented the next time around. This progress included recommendations, backed by the mayor and commission, to find more ways to get local money into the hands of those non-profits which assist those in poverty.
It's also included PPA, which is finalizing its recommendations to present to the local government, and I hope the Athens-Clarke County Commission - regardless of who's mayor - well heed those recommendations and put them into practice.
And I don't know where you derived that I was absolving the local government from our struggles in economic development based on the Chamber's struggles with EDF. My point in doing that was that I've had several folks who support the Chamber tell me how involved they were, which was why this story was so surprising to me.
It would be a stupid argument, if that was indeed the argument I was trying to make. It wasn't, so there's that.
I don't think this is completely Heidi vs. The Chamber (to the extent you think I think it is), but I think it's more than you feel it is. I also don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with that as they're two of the more influential political entities in this community, so them debating ideas and issues is OK.
I've discussed this before, but economic development is a tricky thing - particularly in a geographically small community with high dropout rates and a high poverty rate. I personally think Davison is doing a good job in making strides to address that (to the best of her ability ... the mayor truly doesn't have a magic wand in these types of things), and some folks disagree with that assessment.
More power to them. It's why we have elections.
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