Why Johnny?
Why Am I Asking for Your Vote:
The citizens of Paulding County have grown impatient with annual increases in their property taxes and valuation assessments, especially at a time when the U.S. Economy causes increased expenses for daily life choices such as fuel, groceries, clothing, etc. In exchange for our taxes paid, we, the taxpayers, expect a noticeable improvement in services and infrastructure from our government. Instead, our children and grandchildren are forced into overcrowded schools and classrooms, we travel on roads that are not prepared for the surge in daily commuter traffic, and our public safety agencies are constantly stressed in trying to keep up with the county’s growth.
Our Paulding County Board of Commissioners should be working to ensure the County’s infrastructure is up to date and ahead of growth instead of being years behind. Our Public Safety agencies should be equipped with modern equipment and sufficient numbers of well-paid employees so that they can provide proactive services to protect the future safety of the citizens of Paulding County.
Paulding County is a beautiful place with a robust history, two large wildlife management areas, natural resources, and great parks for family enjoyment and youth athletics. Paulding is a great choice for families because of its affordable housing costs compared to other communities in the metro Atlanta area. Many new residents find Paulding’s proximity to their jobs outside the county an attractive and affordable choice for their families to live.
Herein lies our problem and issue that is affecting all Paulding tax-paying residents regardless of how long they have lived here. Our property tax rates are among the highest in the metro area and the increases are becoming unsustainable for many residents. I know of multiple multi-generational families who have been left with no other choice but to sell their land due to being overburdened by property and school taxes. It isn’t only the generational residents of Paulding who feel this burden. These property tax increases negatively impact home mortgage escrow accounts with annual increases in monthly mortgage payments to keep up with the increase in property taxes due to annual millage rates and assessed value increases.
I want to see our leadership return to a sense of community service and common sense in their duty to protect all Paulding taxpayers from over-taxation and frivolous spending. Other than SPLOST funding, Residential property taxes far outweigh commercial/business property tax revenues in Paulding. larger disparities between residential and commercial property tax exist as the result of large corporate/retail and manufacturing businesses taking advantage of the County property tax codes and keeping their property valuations frozen at a much lower assessment value/rate by filing tri-annual appeals to the Board of Assessors/Board of Equalization.
“When is the best time to plant a tree?” “20 years ago,”
“When is the second-best time to plant a tree?” “NOW”
We must do something now and when elected to represent you, I plan to start “planting trees” and pruning others to protect and prepare the future of Paulding County