by Jana Cone/reporter
TIFTON
July 24, 2008 06:47 pm
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The finances of the Tift County Development Authority are currently being studied by a task force assigned by TCDA members for that purpose: How much money does the TCDA have? Does it have enough money to fund certain projects? Where does the TCDA’s money come from? Does it need a regular, reliable funding source? Should it be able to levy taxes to further economic development?
“The development authority members required that the Financial Task Force do several things. One is that they gather community financial people together and develop a tool so that they can more clearly understand their financial picture,” said Brad Day, president and CEO of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce and TCDA executive director.
A result of some of the task force’s work is a spreadsheet entitled “Monthly Cash Flows” that allows TCDA members to tell at a glance the state of their finances.
When looking at the bottom line — or the “ending cash balance” column on the spreadsheet — Day said he characterizes it as “a lot of money that passes through the development authority, but very little of that is not committed money.”
Day described the TCDA as a “financial conduit that helps spur business growth.”
Day’s concern for the TCDA and its ability to foster economic growth in Tift County is summed up with his words, “I see no regular, dedicated source of income (for the TCDA).”
He explained that Tift County has two development authorities: A constitutional authority and a statutory authority, but both he characterizes as “being limited in power compared to other counties.”
Day cited Effingham County, which he said is similar to Tift County in many ways.
“They are about the same size; they have 48,000 population; and they are north of a metropolitan area,” he said. “But they have the power to leverage taxes and the Tift County Development Authority does not.”
Day said he has taken a good look at the law in that regard for Tift and said, “I see no power to levy taxes, but I will defer to our attorney.”
Bob Reinhardt said, “No, the TCDA does not have taxing powers.” He added that the county has the authority to levy a tax and give the proceeds to the TCDA for economic development.
“The county can levy up to two mills for the use of the authority but the authority has no taxing powers,” Reinhardt said.
Reinhardt said the TCDA does receive a percentage of SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax) funds for economic development.
“For a long time it was 15 percent but this year it is not that much,” Reinhardt said. “We get some of that every month.”
Reinhardt said of the Financial Task Force, “What they are doing is long-range planning. They want to be able to identify economic opportunities and plan ways to finance it.”
“Because they (the TCDA) have no regular source of funding, they have to make their own funds,” Day said. “That’s just the way it has been.”
Day said some people think the TCDA has unlimited resources, but, he said, that is not the case. He said they had been able to “make some good deals” in the past. Still, Day said, “There is going to come a time when they are going to have to revisit the issue” of having a regular funding source and being able to levy taxes.
Day’s concern over TCDA funding sources became evident during recent city and county budget meetings. Day said when he attended them, he asked each branch of local government the same two questions: How does our community fund economic development? What is the best economic development role for the city/county?
“These are community questions,” Day said. “Our government and our residents need to answer those questions.”
He said the only certain funding for the TCDA has been $40,000 given annually by the county and $40,000 by the city to the Chamber of Commerce for economic development, although the city’s amount was just cut by four percent in its current budget.
Day said a large part of the $80,000 went toward salary for the economic development coordinator, which is currently Greg Sellars’ job.
The Financial Task Force, chaired by Butch Davis, is considering all of these TCDA financial issues, Day said.
“I’m excited about what they are doing,” he said. “They are asking questions that need to be asked and they are having frank, open dialogues.”
The Tift County Development Authority, known as the constitutional development authority, was established by the state Constitution in 1958. The Development Authority of Tift County, known as the statutory development authority, was activated in 2006 by the Tift County Board of Commissioners.
Both development authorities have nearly identical purposes, which are to foster the development of business in the county. The main difference is the number of members, with the statutory agency having a larger number, and the commissioners’ stated goal in activating the statutory development authority was to add members.
The current membership of both authorities is identical. Day expresses that fact by saying, “We are we.”
Members of the TCDA are: Bob Reinhardt, Mayor Jamie Cater, Norman Hill, Grady Thompson, Greg Sowell, Harold Harper and Homer Day.
Members of the TCDA’s Financial Task Force, comprised of two subcommittees, are: Butch Davis, chairman; Mike Vollmer, vice chairman; Dale McGriff, Frank Sauls, James Herring, Bob Reinhardt, Harold Harper, Jim Carter, Wasdon Graydon and Pat Hall. The Long-Range Planning subcommitee includes: Mayor Jamie Cater, Jim Carter, Wasdon Graydon, Harold Harper, Norman Hill, Homer Day, Grady Thompson and Jack Perry.
To contact reporter Jana Cone, call 382-4321, ext. 208.
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