Lavonia City Council Meets Tonight

The Lavonia City Council will hear more tonight about their lower fiscal tax digest when they meet for their regular monthly meeting.

This year’s tax digest for fiscal 2013 is lower than in years past.

Last week, city manager Gary Fesperman said the lower digest has to do with a lack of real growth in the town in recent years.

“Through the past several years the county’s had to revitalize, or revamp, their tax digest downward. You know we have not had a lot of real growth or inflationary growth in the digest over the past few years, and you know, all cities state wide are suffering because their tax revenues are down. This year we are working on the five year digest as we speak, and it’s up a little from last year. But it’s not anywhere near where it was in 2008, 2009 and 2010. We’re off considerably.”

 In 2010, the city received over $903-thousand in property tax revenue, but since then, one large manufacturer closed, taking with it the extra property tax revenue along with water revenue.

This time last summer, Lavonia was celebrating the opening of the new Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center.

However, Fesperman said it will be some time before property tax revenue is realized from that project.

“Anytime you have a major project as the hospital you have a deferred period of time that taxes are not paid on that project. Of course you also have a medical office building that was in concert with that, and they will be coming on board before too much longer. And then you have all the ancillary growth that will come around it that will be paying taxes. The medical campus is going to develop over time.”

In other business tonight, the council will discuss the Lavonia Farmer’s  Market and the contract for the use of prison crews.

Tonight’s meeting begins at 5:30p at Lavonia City Hall on SR17.