Columbus city councilmen unanimously approved a one-mil tax increase for Fiscal Year 2018 to help fund a $3.2 million urban renewal bond for the Columbus Redevelopment Authority. Two additional tax hikes for the bond are expected over the next two years.
Columbus Redevelopment Authority board president John Acker, who went before councilmen during Monday’s budget hearing, said the authority is looking to purchase pieces of property in Burns Bottom. Once purchased, CRA plans to market them to private developers to attract new residential developments in the area.
“We’re looking at some land acquisition that we want to market to developers,” Acker said. “We foresee it as a residential development. There’s a high demand right now for residential (property) in the city of Columbus and we feel the market is ready for it.”
Acker said CRA is looking to package purchased property as one tract, rather than selling piecemeal.
“We’re trying to create one tract of land that we can market to developers in one whole piece, rather than them having to come in and individually put it together,” Acker said. “We’re basically putting it together for them.”
Officials didn’t reveal which specific properties the CRA is looking to acquire, but Mayor Robert Smith confirmed they are near Fourth Street North. He also noted the area will likely need water and sewer enhancements, and Columbus Light and Water might help to make those improvements.
“Where the Soccer Complex stops on Third Street side, they’ll enhance it, probably to about Fourth Street — I’d say about four or five blocks,” Smith said.
Millage
The additional mill means the city has added three mills to its tax rate for FY 18. Earlier this month, councilmen approved a two-mill increase to give the city more revenue. The mill approved Monday will be used for paying for the bond.
The increase will take effect at the beginning of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. With the increases, the city’s millage will rise to 46.69 mills.
Mills are used to calculate property taxes. Ad valorem tax revenue is based on the assessed value of real and personal property. So, the value of one mill helps public entities, such as counties, cities and school districts, determine how many mills to levy in taxes each year.
A city mill is worth $192,000 for FY 18.
Smith said the city will raise the millage rate by a total of 2.5 mills, over the next three years, for the urban renewal bond. Councilmen will have to approve a .75 mill increase for fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The mills will pay for the principal and interest for the bond, and Smith said they will automatically phase out once the bond is repaid.
Smith said the CRA’s plans should enhance the area near the Soccer Complex, which the city and county partnered to build.
“Where the soccerplex is at one time was a very blighted area, and it’s at the entryway to your city,” Smith said. “After the partnership was developed between the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors as the city of Columbus, now that’s one of the most beautiful areas as far as the entryway to the city.”
Acker said a public hearing will be scheduled for 30 days after the city adopts its FY 18 budget. The hearing must be held before the city can go forward with the bond issuance.
Smith said the project’s ultimate goal is to attract a development in place of blighted or abandoned property to increase the city’s tax base.
“That’s the vision, to bring developers in where they can develop,” Smith said. “Once they develop this property, then that will increase the tax base.”
Sanders’ response
In 2015, the city and Lowndes County disagreed over a potential partnership to work with CRA to purchase properties in Burns Bottom.
Then, CRA had unveiled an ambitious plan to revitalize up to 80 lots along a six-block area and asked both the city and county for help purchasing the lots. The plan fell through when the county refused.
At the time, Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Harry Sanders expressed concerns developments such as apartments or condominiums would degrade in quality over time.
On Monday, he told The Dispatch he last spoke to the CRA about a year ago, and at the time expressed his desire for a buffer zone of about half a block to prevent a development from going up right next to the Soccer Complex. He also iterated his concerns about low-income housing.
“In my mind, I don’t want low income housing around there,” Sanders said. “After a few years — 20 years or so — people who own the apartments have a tendency to not keep them up. They’ve assured me that’s not what they’re planning to do.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.