A local blogger recently posted a column titled, “NO is not a plan”. The unfortunate reality for him and other supporters of cityhood is that YES is not a plan.
Over the last few months that column's author and others have waxed poetic about the possible positive effects of incorporation. But none of it actually constitutes a plan. They started out telling us there would be a 1 mil tax increase. When that didn’t go over well with the populace, they changed to telling us there might be a tax increase up to 1 mil. And most recently that has changed to there might not be a tax increase at all, we can probably fund the city on franchise fees alone. Doesn’t sound like much of a plan to me.
The reality is that their ‘plan’ is the charter which lays the framework for a full fledged city. When people run for mayor and council positions, they will present their ‘plans’ (hopefully within the confines of the charter) but the city itself will already be a fait accompli. That’s not a plan, that’s a hope.
By contrast, a vote NO carries some known outcomes. If you vote NO there will be no mayor and no councilpersons who can raise your taxes, up to 1 mil or any other amount. If you vote NO there will be no mayor and no councilpersons who can collect, spend or raise the franchise fees you pay on your utilities. If you vote NO there will be no city manager collecting a six figure salary. If you vote NO there will be no contract code enforcement officers riding around looking for stuff to fine people over and no municipal court to enforce their citations.
If you vote NO, after the election we can focus this re-invigorated community spirit on our county leadership and work to get them doing what we elected them for, instead of trying to replace them at a city level. Like it or not Peachtree Corners is part of Gwinnett County and part of the metro Atlanta area, and it will continue to prosper in that context if it doesn’t isolate itself by becoming a city. For more on a vision for Peachtree Corners I invite all to read today’s Gwinnett Forum.
Posted By: Bob
