Dr. Rhett Candidate for Cobb County Commissioner Economic Development Plan

Dr. Rhett Candidate Cobb County
Commissioner District Campaign to Economically

Empower a United South Cobb County
 
January 2012

We need an economic vision that will do the following:

• Lower Taxes
• Form Base Zoning to develop communities
• Promote Jobs by investing in the community

Let’s look at the circular flow of economics and how it affects our
communities.

Moneyneeds to turn over several times, exchange hands, (reinvested) in the community
before leaving the community. It then becomes vested in our well-being.

Currently in our communities once a person spends a dollar it immediately exit our
community and is taken to the community of the store owner and invested. How
do we invest our spent money in our community?

Example:
You put an offering in the church, the church takes the money to pay a painter in the community to paint the church, the painter goes to the barbershop and gets a
haircut, the barber goes to the grocery store to buy food, the grocery store
owner goes to the auto repair shop, the mechanic goes to the gym, the fitness
instructor goes to the nail salon, the nail salon attendant puts the money in
Sunday’s church offering.

The money becomes vested in the community several times and helps several people in our community.

This promotes employment, jobs, and stabilizes a community because we are all
directly investing.

How to get business to commit to investing in our community?

When a community has reached the end of its economic cycle or start to exhibit blight,
we can encourage reinvestment by creating a TAD (Tax Allocation District)

Definitions:

Economic cycle end or exhibit blight – Building
property that is assessed at 50% less than the neighboring buildings or no
longer utilized to its previous potential.

Tax Allocation District- A study on how
much additional property tax funds can be received if an area is redeveloped. A
flat tax is set. As the commercial property value increases any additional tax
revenue received over that flat tax rate is reinvested into the community
further developing infrastructure, parks, or sidewalks etc. This is how
businesses commit to invest in a community and become a part of the circular flow of economics.

We can also promote BID (Business Improvement Districts)

Definition:

Business Improvement Districts: is a defined
area within which businesses pay an additional tax or fee in order to fund
improvements within the district’s boundaries.

The businesses in the community pay an additional millage which is used to
initially invest in infrastructure, parks, walking trails, sidewalks, etc. This
can attracts investments from others sources to supplement the rest of the
projects cost. Now businesses are investing in the community and are committed
to its future success. This is how business commit to invest in our
communities and become a part of the circular flow of economics.

Incentives to encourage Business to Invest in the Community

 Opportunity Zones - Highly distressed urban and rural
communities who may be eligible for a combination of grants, tax credits for
businesses that relocate to the area. The area usually has about 15% poverty
rate.

EDGE (Economic Development for a Growing Economy)

A nonprofit that would help schools develops a curriculum that is receptive to the needs of
perspective business and aggressively market Cobb County’s availability for
business to locate

Community Choices Program
which helps cities develop business permit process that is business friendly.

How does this affect our taxes?

When businesses are doing well, they can help to share the property tax burden with the residential property homeowner. Most of the property tax burden is not carried on the residential homeowner. The millage from property taxes supports our county bond, county general services, parks and recreation, facilities, fire, police and schools.

Eventually the residential property owner’s millage can be reduced because businesses find it suitable to relocate and invest in our community.

The business property value increase and brings in tax revenue, because of the TAD & BID, streamlined business permit process, tax credits,  

Also, people are employed.

Form Base Zoning

As communities develop we would encourage form base zoning. This make it easier to conform to a communities desire to grow instead of being micromanaged by standard conventional codes.

Dr. Michael Rhett 

Education:  Doctorate Degree, University of Georgia (UGA)

Specialist Degree, Georgia State University

Master Degree, University of Central Oklahoma

Bachelor Degree, State University of New York

Associate Degree, Community College of the U.S. Air Force

Service: Community & Country

• United States Air Force Reserves  (Master Sergeant)
• Educator
• State of Georgia Democratic Committee Representative      District 4 S.W. Cobb County
• Cobb County Transportation SPLOST Tax  Oversight Committee: Secretary
• American Legion Post 296 Jr. Vice Commander
• Mayor of Powder Springs Economic Development Committee Member
• Six Flags Drive Business Opportunity Zone Community Café Facilitator
• Cobb County Commission of the Children
• Annual Mableton Day Committee Member

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