Backroom Report 8-25-08

It’s no secret the economy here in NW Georgia has hit a real slump… after several years of unemployment numbers under 5%… which is considered to be full employment, the latest rates from the Georgia Dept. of Labor show Bartow County at 7%, Floyd County at 7.2%, Gordon County at 7.5%, and Chattooga County at a whopping 9.1% unemployment.

The rising numbers of residents now out of work is beginning to severely impact numerous local businesses with many car dealers, restaurants and others experiencing significant drops in sales.

For those still working, inflation is taking its toll and is especially noticeable at the grocery store as food prices have escalated sharply…

Almost all of us have had to tighten the old financial belt to some degree, but getting government to downsize is another matter. Just when we could all use a little relief from the taxman, the city of Cartersville is poised to raise taxes this fall by refusing to adjust their millage rate to what is referred to as the rollback rate.

Cartersville officials will be holding a series of three state mandated public hearings in coming days to explain the tax bump. This increase is especially hard on local businesses… after being hit with a new storm water utility fee by the City of Cartersville last year… and also absorbing increases in business license fees by both the city and county, business owners need some relief.

It’s also very disappointing that our local Chamber of Commerce has stayed on the sidelines…. The chamber’s primary purpose is to work on behalf of it’s business members and that means fighting tax and fee increases.

The Bartow County Board of Education seems to understand the financial pressure our community is under as they plan to reduce their property tax millage rate down to the rollback rate at a called meeting this Thursday.

Perhaps it’s not too late to send a message to Cartersville officials that they also should avoid a tax increase by adjusting their proposed property tax rate downward…