DALTON, Ga. — As the General Assembly considers legislation that can affect the entire state, Whitfield County commissioners say they closely monitor bills and resolutions that could particularly impact the Carpet Capital.
Commission Chairman Brian Anderson last week heaped praise on legislators who voted against House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s tax reform plan.
“Our legislators need to be looking out for the county,” he said, “and not worry about what the Speaker wants.”
The greatly altered plan was less drastic than the original, but still would have eliminated the state tax on personal vehicles and capped how much local governments would have been able to increase property taxes in a single year.
Mr. Anderson described that plan as sounding “too good to be true.” It died in the House on Wednesday, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments.
Commissioners are in regular e-mail and telephone contact with the Northwest Georgia legislative delegation, discussing issues like the tax plan of the election of a Board of Transportation member. They also receive legislative updates from the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.
“We probably know more than we’d like to know,” Mr. Anderson said. “We’ve been inundated with information.”
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Dalton, said the relationship between commissioners and legislators is “pretty good,” however, “We’ve got our differences.”
For example, Rep. Williams voted for the Speaker’s tax reform plan.
On Thursday, Whitfield commissioners issued a statement thanking the legislators who voted against the plan.
The only local lawmaker, and the only Republican, to vote against it was Rep. Tom Dickson, R-Cohutta. He said the plan did not take inflation into account when capping the increases, and could have hamstrung local governments dependent on property taxes.
“It takes guts to do the right thing,” Mr. Anderson said, in the prepared statement. That tax plan — which fell 10 votes short of the 120 it needed to pass — would have forced the county to cut services, commissioners said.
For his part, Rep. Williams said he had taxpayers in mind when he voted for the measure. “I felt like the people of Georgia needed a tax break, and that would have given them one,” he said. He describes his relationship with commissioners as a “balancing act,” requiring him to weigh their needs against the needs of his constituents.
Meanwhile, the County Commission will continue to watch the legislature. In the immediate future, Mr. Anderson said, “We are looking at asking them to do full tax reform.”
