THANK YOU to everyone who helped secure a 67% victory in last month’s House District 80 election. I greatly appreciate every vote, every yard sign, every financial contribution, everyone who talked with me when I knocked on your door, and everyone who talked with their neighbors about our campaign. In the next two years, as in the past two years, you can expect the same open communication and efforts to enhance the quality of life in our community, improve government accountability, eliminate wasteful spending, and keep our taxes low.

Voting isn’t over, however. Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 2, is Georgia’s runoff election to decide the winner of those offices for which no candidate received at least 50% + 1 votes in the November election. At stake are one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats, a seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission, a seat on the Georgia Court of Appeals, a DeKalb County Superior Court judgeship, and a handful of seats on the DeKalb County Board of Education.

Your regular polling location will be open tomorrow from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Please click here to download a copy of the sample ballot. This sample ballot is in PDF format and you will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view it. If you are not sure of your polling location, please click here to use the Secretary of State’s poll locator.

I hope to see you at the polls!

I am pleased to report some success in the ongoing fight to require DeKalb County to ask for your vote before spending your tax dollars to repay the principal and interest on new bonds for expensive new county facilities.

Judge Daniel M. Coursey, Jr. of the Superior Court of DeKalb County has ruled that legislation I passed in 2007, House Bill 181 (click for more information), complies with the Georgia Constitution and does indeed require a referendum for the $4.3 million in additional bonded debt that the DeKalb County Government and the DeKalb County Development Authority were planning to issue to cover the over-budget construction costs for a new performing arts center on Rainbow Drive in South DeKalb.

You can read more about Judge Coursey’s decision in these articles in the AJC and DeKalb Champion and on GoDeKalb.com (click link to read each article).

The cost of the performing arts center has jumped from $11 million to $18 million in the past year. That’s $18 million of your tax dollars, plus interest, just to build the facility. The county isn’t sure how it is going to fund the ongoing operations of this facility once it opens its doors.

To finance the amount this project has exceeded its original construction budget, the county was seeking to use a clever bond financing scheme. They proposed to have the DeKalb Development Authority (a quasi-governmental entity not accountable to voters or taxpayers) float $4.3 million in new bonds. After construction, the Development Authority would own the arts center, lease it to the county, and the county would use our tax dollars to repay the principal and interest on the bonds as rent payments to the Development Authority.

House Bill 181 subjects this type of bond financing scheme to a referendum requirement. Rather than using one of the election dates that have come and gone in 2008 to propose a ballot question and ask for your permission to issue these bonds, the county government and the Development Authority decided to disregard your right to vote on the bonds and challenge HB 181 in the courts. As an attorney, I have been donating my legal services to make sure this law is upheld.

I anticipate that the Development Authority and its high-priced lawyers from a major Atlanta law firm will appeal Judge Coursey’s decision to the Georgia Supreme Court. I will be making an open records request to find out exactly how much the Development Authority is paying its lawyers to challenge HB 181 and from what source these pricey legal fees are being paid.

It would be both ironic and appalling if the county is spending your tax dollars to deny your right to vote on how your tax dollars are spent.

Your regular polling location will be open on Tuesday, November 4, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Anyone standing in line at their polling place by the 7:00 p.m. closing time will be allowed to vote.

Please click here to download a copy of the DeKalb County sample ballot. This sample ballot is in PDF format and you will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view it.

If you are not sure of your polling location, please click here to use the Secretary of State’s poll locator.

On a final note, thank you for allowing me to work for you as your State Representative for the past four years. Win or lose on Election Day, it has been a privilege serving you!

Please click here to download a copy of the DeKalb County sample ballot for the 2008 General Election. This sample ballot is in PDF format and you will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view it.

Georgia’s early voting period for the General Election is this week. You can vote Monday through Friday, October 27 through 31, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the DeKalb County Voter Registration & Elections office, 4380 Memorial Drive, or at one of the following locations which are more convenient to our community:

Brook Run - 4770 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody 30338

Northlake - DeKalb County Fire Headquarters, Training Conference Room, 1950 West Exchange Place, Tucker 30084

Downtown Decatur - 330 West Ponce deLeon Avenue, Room A, Decatur 30030

Your regular polling place will be open on Tuesday, November 4, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Secretary of State Karen Handel and DeKalb County election officials recommend voting early to avoid long lines on Election Day. Please remember to bring a photo ID.

I am pleased to report that I have been endorsed by the Georgia Conservation Voters (GCV) for re-election this year. GCV is the state’s leading environmental advocacy organization. You can read GCV’s list of bipartisan endorsements here (click for link).

For my work in preserving Georgia’s natural heritage, reining in overdevelopment, and advocating for transit solutions as a member of the House Transportation Committee and MARTA Oversight Committee, I have received GCV’s Environmental Leadership Award every year I have served in the General Assembly: 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Thanks for the vote of confidence, GCV!

As I knock on doors and talk with constituents in our community, I am frequently asked to explain the various constitutional amendments and ballot questions on which we’ll be voting this year. Here is some information to help you make informed decisions about this year’s ballot issues:

Amendment 1 (Statewide): “To encourage the preservation of Georgia’s forests through a conservation-use property tax reduction program.”

This will allow owners of at least 200 acres of forested land a property tax reduction if they agree to preserve the forest. If the land owner breaks the agreement within fifteen years, all back taxes and penalties must be paid.

Amendment 2 (Statewide): “To authorize local school districts to use tax funds for community redevelopment purposes.”

Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) are created to finance infrastructure projects in blighted or economically distressed areas by capturing increases in property taxes that result from increased property values.

Local school districts had participated in TADs based on the theory that school systems would benefit as higher property values resulted in increased school tax funding. Earlier this year, the Georgia Supreme Court held school district participation in TADs unconstitutional. This amendment would reverse the Supreme Court’s decision.

The problem is that in recent years, TADs have been used to benefit developers in areas that are not blighted or economically distressed. The recently adopted TAD at North Druid Hills and Briarcliff Roads is an example of this. On the other hand, the redevelopment of Atlantic Station is generally regarded as an appropriate and successful use of a TAD.

Please click here for prior commentary I wrote about this amendment.

Amendment 3 (Statewide): “To authorize the creation of special Infrastructure Development Districts providing infrastructure to underserved areas.”

Infrastructure Development Districts (IDDs) would allow developers to create infrastructure like roads and sewers in new developments and levy taxes on future property owners to pay for the improvements. This would allow counties and cities to finance infrastructure in a defined area without raising taxes on all property owners. However, it also gives private entities the power to float bonds and levy taxes.

DeKalb County Referendum: “Shall the Act be approved which provides for the presiding officer to preside over meetings of the DeKalb County Commission and for the commission to establish its own agenda for such meetings?”

This will rein in the powers of the DeKalb CEO and enable our elected county commissioners to be a more effective “check and balance” against the CEO’s powers. I was proud to co-sponsor and champion this legislation in the House of Representatives. I encourage you to vote YES on this measure.

Please click here for more information about this referendum.

DeKalb County Board of Education Nonbinding Advisory Referendum: “Should the DeKalb County Board of Education require that students in kindergarten through fifth grades wear school uniforms?”

This vote is advisory only and will not force any action by the School Board.

Since the day I began serving you in the State House almost four years ago, I have been pushing to reform DeKalb County’s “strong CEO” form of government.

The CEO presides over county commission meetings, sets the agenda for those meetings, votes in the event of a tie, has the power to veto legislation, directs the county staff, who serve at the CEO’s pleasure, and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of county services.

That is too much power to give any single elected official. In a county of 740,000 people, it makes no sense to have a system where our elected county commissioners are completely marginalized.

This year, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 52 to rein in the powers of the DeKalb CEO. I was proud to co-sponsor and champion this legislation.

SB 52 will give the county commission the power to conduct and set the agenda for its own meetings. That will enable our county commissioners to be a more effective “check and balance” against the CEO’s powers.

The President doesn’t preside over Congress, the Governor doesn’t preside over the General Assembly, and the CEO shouldn’t preside over the DeKalb County Commission.

SB 52 must be ratified by DeKalb voters in the November 4th election in order to take effect. I encourage you to vote in favor of this referendum.

If you would like to see an example of why SB 52 is a good idea, please take a look at the below YouTube videos. This is slightly more than 12 minutes of a county commission meeting broken into three parts. Warning: This is not the county commission’s finest moment.

Just a friendly reminder that Thursday, October 2, through Sunday, October 5, is Georgia’s sales tax holiday for energy efficient and water efficient products. Products exempt from the usual 7% sales tax include “Energy Star” refrigerators, washers and dryers, and other major appliances, ceiling fans, windows and doors, fluorescent light bulbs, and low-flow bathroom fixtures and showerheads.

Two of my favorite annual House District 80 events are coming up the next two weekends. If you are looking for something to do, the food, sights, and sounds at these events can’t be beat:

Atlanta Greek Festival - Runs Thursday, October 2, through Sunday, October 5, at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 2500 Clairmont Road. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children under 12. Go there hungry. The food is great! Extra parking and a shuttle bus to the event are available at Century Center. Visit www.atlantagreekfestival.org for more information.

Brookhaven Arts Festival - Next Saturday and Sunday, October 11 and 12, on Apple Valley Road behind the Brookhaven MARTA Station. Admission is free. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the festival. Evan and I enjoy strolling through this festival every year and have artwork from the event hanging in our home. Visit www.brookhavenartsalliance.com for more information.

You’ve probably never seen it. You’ll probably never use it. However, the cost of building the county’s new performing arts center on Rainbow Drive in southern DeKalb jumped from $11 million to $17 million this past year. That’s $17 million of your tax dollars just to build the facility. The county isn’t sure how it is going to fund the ongoing operations of this performing arts center once it opens its doors.

Decisions like this help explain why your county property tax bill increases every year. Decisions like this also help explain why county spending has jumped 40 percent in the past eight years, far outpacing DeKalb’s 10 percent population growth during that same period.

To finance the amount this project has exceeded its original budget, the county is proposing to use a clever bond financing scheme. They propose to have the DeKalb County Development Authority (a quasi-governmental entity not accountable to voters or taxpayers) float an additional $4.3 million in bonds. After construction, the Development Authority will own the performing arts center, lease it to the county, and the county will use our tax dollars to pay the principal and interest on the bonds as rent payments to the Development Authority.

In 2007, I authored and the General Assembly passed House Bill 181, which subjects this type of bond financing scheme to a referendum requirement. DeKalb taxpayers will be paying the principal and interest on the arts center bonds for years to come. The premise behind HB 181 is simple: Before using your credit card, the county should ask your permission in a referendum.

The DeKalb County Government and the Development Authority have decided to disregard your right to vote on these bonds and challenge HB 181 in the courts. As an attorney, I am donating my legal services to make sure this law is upheld.

The case is currently in DeKalb County Superior Court and probably will be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. Between writing briefs and making in-court arguments, the donated time will equal at least two or three weeks. It is well worth every minute to preserve your right to vote on how the county uses your tax dollars.