If the story of the city of Augusta were a fairy tale, it would have all the elements to keep children scared at night and lack a moral at the end.
Reader Harold Clack once commented that stories being told about Augusta should begin with, “Once upon a time.” Having thought about that, I have determined that as wild, bazaar and head shaking in disbelief that many stories about Augusta are and how they can challenge the Brother’s Grimm, Mr. Clack can’t be called entirely wrong.
Now, with that being said:
Once upon a time in a beautiful city by the river, commerce was good. The city of Augusta was so clean and beautiful that kings, queens and princesses would visit. Captains of industry would vacation in the fair city that was far away from the belching smoke stacks they had built in their own backyards.
In the last century, a United States president visited Augusta and stayed for extended periods of time. The Augusta National Golf Club was Ike Eisenhower and his wife Mamie’s Camp David.
The downtown area was hustling and bustling with store fronts and businesses. Restaurants like the Ship’s Ahoy and Town Tavern served up delicious banquets, and the latest in entertainment could be found all along Broad Street.
Parking wasn’t a problem back then; people didn’t have the need to park on center medians, in loading zones, in front of fire hydrants or on the sidewalks. There wasn’t a parking problem because people didn’t have a walking problem. They didn’t mind having to park blocks away from where they were actually going.
No, people strolled the litter-free blocks and windowshopped, or took advantage of the “layaway” option at Ruben’s Department store or White’s.
Business was good, and the perfectly coiffed, shiny happy people smiled as they waited in line for a ticket to the Imperial Theater.
Yet, over time, the Ogres, also known as the Cracker party, tricked the people into voting for them, and they began eating up the tax money like pythons in the Everglades.
Things changed when the monies that Augusta had in the coffers for maintenance were no longer enough to maintain the city.
The city was, in essence, broke. “Where, oh where to get more money?” the Cracker courtiers of the Marble Palace asked.
Let’s consolidate!
“We can grab a bunch of land. We can get an airport, and we will have all the county’s tax money at hand to spend it all away on frills and wheeling and dealing like we always have,” the Crackers croaked.
So, consolidation came about, and the once beautiful Augusta started on a downhill slide from which she has yet to recover.
Slowly, the taxpayers started moving out of Augusta, mostly west to the growing Columbia County. Two malls were approved by the Augusta government to open within a very short period of time, and few noticed that what was hailed as the blooming explosion of growth actually accelerated the downfall of the downtown business district.
Regency Mall started to fail due to crime becoming prevalent in the immediate surrounding area, and shoppers began to stay away from Regency. Soon, it was to become an empty shell of its once glorious self and swiftly moved to the status of eyesore.
It has since remained the same, with half the building demolished and the rest of the land a mud flat that, ironically, escapes the Stormwater Fee.
The once bustling Gordon Highway area started on a downward spiral as well. Gradually, the motels that were busy with out of town guests, where restaurants were also attached as well as cocktail lounges where live music could be heard all week long, became seedy “no-tell motels.”
The many auto dealerships along the famed “motor mile” began to close and move west with many choosing to relocate to Columbia County on Washington Road and some to North Augusta on the Aiken-Augusta Highway.
Grocery stores closed, banks closed and the once vibrant Southgate Plaza began to only display empty storefronts.
The Augusta tax base was quickly disappearing as the politicians continued feasting.
New housing construction ground to a halt. So, with stores and businesses closing, new housing at a near standstill and the increasing exodus out of Augusta, the tax base was shrinking. The obese elite began to panic.
Where, oh where to get more money for the dysfunctional city government?
Not necessarily in order or in a linear timeline, but it happened nevertheless, the city bean counters began to appraise all property at a higher value, increasing homeownership and business taxes. They hiked up utilities rates but provided no additional services.
People must have utilities, so very few complained; those that did complain still had to pay up.
Next, up on the garbage rates and the service was cut by half. The citizens did complain, but the bill was attached to their property tax bills. That way if they didn’t pay, the city could possibly seize their property for unpaid property taxes and auction the home to an absentee landlord.
“Yep, we got them by the shorts hairs now, so they won’t wince when we come up with a fee of some sort,” the porcine politicians proclaimed.
Here comes the stormwater fee attached to the utility bill. Damn, this racket is raking in the dough. How about a streetlight fee? Pothole fee?
The old-school elected class love to talk about the growth of Augusta as if there is a different moral to “The Tortoise and the Hare.” It was the hare’s race to lose, no matter the opponent.
According to the United States Census, Augusta has been very, very slow in building the population. New business may have occurred, but the new employees are residing in neighboring counties. If you have any doubts about this fact take notice at around 5 o’clock in the afternoon on Riverwatch Parkway and I-20 on any given weekday.
Washington Road heading west to Columbia County is bumper-to-bumper, and heavy traffic crossing the 13th Street bridge into North Augusta and Aiken County display the obvious cold hard facts: people work in Augusta, but live elsewhere.
Now, the elected city commissioners love to rave and let all who will listen tell the masses that they have not approved a tax increase in years. Now, that in itself is the truth.
Commissioners brag about voting to either roll back or leave the rate flat. Yep, let the tax appraiser go up on property assessments and take the heat. Oh wait, what does that do? Right, make your property taxes higher.
Now to help ease the bludgeoning tax burden there is a Homestead exemption that can be taken. That does decrease the tax on the property where a person actually resides. A person may own multiple properties but can only take one exemption on the property that they actually live at.
While that sounds reasonable, it doesn’t stop higher taxes when appraised value goes up.
Enter House Bill 581.
The long story short of this bill, for all intents and purposes, is that it will allow the property to continue to be appraised at a higher rate but the homestead exemption would remain at the rate being paid now. The taxes would not continue on an upward climb as long as the property owner remained living in the home.
Here is where the fun begins.
This bill was placed on the Georgia election ballot this past November for the citizens, taxpayers, to vote to approve or reject this idea. The bill overwhelmingly passed with 62% of the voters in favor of the bill.
Now comes the insanity. Each county elected body can vote to opt out of the bill. From all that I have heard from some commissioners, the Augusta commission is considering opting out.
Former Augusta Mayor Bob Young spoke before the Augusta commission endorsing HB581. Young is a highly respected man, a very knowledgeable man, and he speaks not as if he is unsure about the facts or his stance on an issue.
For many, many of us Augusta taxpayers, Bob Young was right and on point when he informed the commissioners that if they voted to opt out that they were telling 62% of the voters that their vote and desires meant nothing. Their vote would be nullified. Their vote just doesn’t matter. Mr Young is 100% correct.
When someone is campaigning for an elected office, you can always hear them tell you that every vote counts. Well, now it seems that those same elected politicians are telling you that maybe your vote doesn’t count.
A special little note to the 11 elected who sit on the Augusta commission dais: Voters vote with three things, their minds, their hearts and their pocketbooks. If you do elect to opt out of SB581 for whatever reasons that you come up with, you will be wrong. You will have told 62% that their vote does not matter.
When election time comes around again, the voters will remember. No matter who it is from that 11 commissioners who votes to nullify the voter’s vote, he or she should and most likely will be turned out of office.
The Augusta taxpayers are tired of paying inflated taxes and getting fewer services. May we suggest that the out of control free wheeling spending be halted. Be brave, be unafraid, be truly transparent, show us where and how the money is being spent and have a full government forensic audit.
Then and only then will we get the real truth and the real story.
When Augusta’s Engineering director is asked about where and how that department’s money is being spent and the question goes unanswered, he gets away with it. Then he goes on local television for a Liz Owens interview and is asked about a $20 million dollar surplus and to paraphrase his answer, says the money is only on paper that it really doesn’t exist and the commissioners remain silent. Well, silence must be compliance.
With this commission there seems to be a sliver of hope. Only time will tell.
Folks, as always, you just can’t make this stuff up.
