LYNNE RILEY EMAIL UPDATE

Impact of the New City of Sandy Springs Legislation

"Shafer Amendment" Offers Dramatic Relief to North Fulton Taxpayers

It appears the citizens of Sandy Springs will finally have an opportunity to vote on their form of government. While the people of Sandy Springs certainly have every right to self-determination, the creation of this new city will have a definite impact on those of us who are left behind in rapidly dwindling unincorporated North Fulton. Significantly, the removal of Sandy Springs from the Special Services District (SSD) for Unincorporated Fulton County will leave fewer of us in North Fulton to subsidize services in South Fulton.

All the members of the North Fulton Legislative Delegation, especially Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth), Senator Dan Moody (R-Alpharetta), Representative Jan Jones (R-Alpharetta) and Representative Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta), deserve our thanks for protecting the taxpayers of North Fulton.

One provision of the Sandy Springs funding bill, the brainchild of Senator David Shafer, offers the promise of dramatic relief to North Fulton taxpayers if the Sandy Springs referendum is passed. This provision has the effect of requiring SSD taxes collected in North Fulton to be spent in North Fulton and would end the subsidization that sends tens of millions of our property tax dollars miles away to South Fulton.

The "Shafer Amendment" which was inserted in House Bill 36 creates a new Code section stating:

36-31-12.
(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) The purpose of a special services district is to provide special services to a given geographic area and to finance the provision of those services from taxes, fees, and assessments levied in the geographic area which benefits from the services;
(2) The creation of a municipal corporation within a county which has a special services district for the unincorporated area of the county may result in the special services district being divided into noncontiguous areas or in existing noncontiguous areas of such district being even more remote from each other; and
(3) The purpose of a special services district is defeated if it becomes divided into noncontiguous areas which are remote from each other and one or more of such noncontiguous areas is subsidizing the provision of services in other such noncontiguous areas.
(b) When a municipal corporation is created by local Act within a county which has a special district for the provision of local government services consisting of the unincorporated area of the county and following the creation of said municipal corporation the special district is divided into two or more noncontiguous areas, any special district taxes, fees, and assessments collected in such a noncontiguous area shall be spent to provide services in that noncontiguous area.

Of course, as your County Commissioner, I have worked hard to see that our tax dollars are spent here in North Fulton. I welcome the "Shafer Amendment" as a powerful tool to make sure that the taxpayers of North Fulton are treated more fairly.

Not everyone is pleased with Senator Shafer's efforts to bring fairness to Fulton County government and protect the taxpayers of North Fulton. I hope that you will join me in thanking and encouraging him. You can email him your appreciation at SenatorDavidShafer@yahoo.com.

I hope this Update has been informative. Please contact my office at any time we can be of assistance.
 
Thanks!
 
Lynne Riley
Fulton County Commission - District 3
Fulton County Government Center
141 Pryor Street, SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-730-8213 office