County votes to raise Freeport
In a split decision, the Gordon County Board of Commissioners voted to approve an increase in the Freeport Tax exemption, starting Jan. 1, 2018 from 60-percent to 80-percent per a verbal agreement made between the previous administration and businesses. The tax is on inventory, raw materials and finished goods and could impact the revenue to the school systems by $420,000 and the county $640,000 based on the current millage rate.
“Every county around us is at 100-percent in Freeport exemption,” County Attorney James Ledbetter said. “We’ve seen many businesses leave for those counties.”
Ledbetter said the county has lost about $30 million to the City of Calhoun in industrial revenue, which has had an 80-percent exemption for a couple of years. “That was a direct negative impact on the county schools.”
He said the county would continue to lose industry, new and existing to jurisdictions close by and pointed to Lowe’s distribution in Floyd County as a prime example; he also pointed out the new Shaw plant built just across the county line in Bartow and the Engineered Floors plant just over the county line in Whitfield. There has also been the loss of Surya Carpets, moving their entire facilities to Bartow County and the closure for Case-New Holland, which took about $28 million of inventory off the local books.
“This was a verbal agreement made with businesses in 2012-2013,” Ledbetter, explained to the board. “The agreement was to reach 100 percent in 20-percent increments and we are at a point where we need to consider the next increment.”
Board members Chad Steward and Bud Owens voiced support for the move.
“Prospective industries look at our county and see we aren’t at 100-percent, they cross us off the list,” Steward said.