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Community Corner

Citizens Challenge Braves Deal in Court

Cobb Citizens for Governmental Transparency (CGT), is challenging the Cobb Board of Commissioners’ assertion that there will be no new or increased taxes levied to fund the Braves move here, and is assisting Cobb citizens in filing court challenges and legal interventions against the issuance of a Revenue Bond to fund the Braves stadium project. Although the county has repeatedly said that there would be no new taxes associated with the Braves Project, and although the Constitution of the State of Georgia clearly prohibits it, the petition from the County before the court asks for the ability to create an ad hoc property tax increase, at paragraph 22  (Pages 9-10) of the petition:

    "The County and the Authority have entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement dated
May 27, 2014 (the "Intergovernmental Agreement"), pursuant to which the Authority has
agreed to issue the Series 2014 Bonds to finance a portion of the costs of the Project, and the
County, in consideration of the Authority's doing so, will be obligated to make payments to the
Authority in amounts sufficient to enable the Authority to pay the principal of, interest, and
premium (if any) on the Series 2014 Bonds (the "Intergovernmental Agreement Payments")
and to levy an ad valorem property tax (if necessary) on all property in the County subject to such tax, in order to make such payments to the Authority."

 

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The validity of this bond will be tested in a Superior Court hearing scheduled for July 7th by the Honorable Judge Rob Leonard.   As of this date, there will be a number of intervention petitions delivered to the Court.
In accordance with the law, the Cobb District Attorney has filed a Civil Action called a Bond Validation to approve the bond to pay for this stadium and to grant the County the ability to raise property taxes to repay the bond.  Everyone who is a citizen of Georgia, and a resident of Cobb County can intervene and offer his/her opinion on issuing the bonds and granting the BOC authority to raise property taxes to pay it back by simply delivering a letter to the Superior Court by July 7th .

Dr. Ben Williams, President of the Cobb SCLC Chapter, and attorney Gary Pelphrey, both CGT members, and others, will deliver their  intervention petitions as a Cobb residents and taxpayers (copies available upon request) to the Clerk of the Court, the District Attorney, the County and the Attorneys for Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority, immediately following the press conference.

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CGT is a group of organizations representing a diverse cross section of Cobb residents, which has called for a moratorium on any public spending relating to the Atlanta Braves proposed move to Cobb, and a referendum on the deal if it involves public financing.




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