The city of Columbus continues to lose population as residents move away or flock to the county to avoid higher taxes.
The population of Columbus is about 23,640, according to the 2010 census, down from 25,944 in 2000.
Lowndes County has also decreased in population. The 2010 census records 59,779 people, down from 61,586 in 2010.
But the county has a constant stream of tax dollars flowing in from an ever-growing industrial base to make up the difference.
The exodus means an increasingly higher tax rate for those who remain in the city, and it means less local revenue for the city schools.
The Columbus City Council and the school district feel the sense the urgency.
Columbus Municipal School District responded by cutting 59 certified staff members. The move will save the district $3.4 million.
Other massive cuts are on the way in an effort to balance the budget after a decade of dipping into reserves and declaring shortfalls.
The City Council summoned Joe Higgins Tuesday to ask, What have you done for me lately?
Higgins, CEO of the Link, is Lowndes County’s resident development bulldog.
The Link justifies his $210,000 salary with the 6,500 jobs and $4 billion in facilities he’s wooed to the area. Much of that money has gone to the county, as industries locate in the county industrial park, doing nothing, as far as property taxes, for the city.
Lowndes County is flush with cash while the city of Columbus struggles with debt and decreasing property values.
The change will be felt by all who live in the city. There, the value of a mill has fallen from around $208,000 to $205,000, and it likely will fall again once the tax office reassesses property. Tax Assessor Greg Andrews expects the value of a mill in the city to drop well below $200,000.
Years ago, when the city was flush with industry and the county was more a rural farming economy, roles were reversed. Times have changed; the city’s manufacturing base is a ghost of what it once was.
There are those in the county, Supervisor Harry Sanders chief among them, who seem to take a perverse pleasure in trumpeting the woes of the city. While that kind of banter may be entertaining in some quarters, it only serves to make the entire community seem petty and contentious.
Not to rely on cliché, but we’re all in this together. The city of Columbus is the heartbeat of Lowndes County.
It’s to everyone’s benefit that both flourish together.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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