[Sabella]

Originally Posted by Advogado

The head-line article in today's Daily Sun is the latest impact-fee bull shoveled by the Developer's Minister of Propaganda, David R. Corder. It nowhere mentions the decrease in property taxes that would match the increase in impact fees. Estep, Miller, and Search ran on a platform of reversing the 25% property-tax increase imposed by the Developer's puppet Commissioners to preserve the Developer's sweetheart impact fee.

Mr. Corder constantly describes the proposed impact-fee increase as a "tax increase". It would not be a tax increase. It would be a SHIFTING of taxes to pay for the Developer's county infrastructure (roads, police, fire, etc.) from the present residents to the Developer, who should be bearing such costs. The net result would be a tax decrease for current businesses and residents. New or existing businesses building a new structure would pay the impact fee once and then enjoy lower property taxes, amortizing and deducting the impact fee over the life of the building.

Again, this would be a tax break for existing, COVID-impacted businesses. Furthermore, expanding existing businesses filling up the many existing vacant premises would pay no impact fee and would enjoy the benefit of lower property taxes. Unfortunately, the issue is complicated and, for many residents, the Developer's newspaper is their only source of local news. These folks may well believe Mr. Corder's distortion of the facts.

Thank you for your intelligent and true statement