City seeking commission members

The Peachtree City Planning Commission has vacancies for two volunteer members and one alternate. The five-member board meets on the second Monday of each month to help the city administer its zoning and land development ordinance and to review site and landscape plans for commercial and industrial development. Members serve three-year terms

UPCOMING

Fayette County Back-to-School Expo. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Fayette County Government Complex, 140 Stonewall Ave. W, Fayetteville. Sponsored by Fayette County Public Schools, the Georgia Department of Public Health, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Fayette FACTOR, this event offers on-site immunizations, health screenings, fingerprinting, safety checks, opportunities to sign up for lunch, tutoring, enrichment and after-school programs. 770-716-2797, FayetteFactor.org.

SPLOST defeat hurts Avondale Estates

Last week, DeKalb County’s board of commissioners unanimously voted against conducting a referendum on the 1 percent special purpose local option sales tax.

The commission could revisit the SPLOST next year, but meantime the defeat particularly stings several cities like Avondale Estates, which doesn’t get nearly as much from the homestead optional sales tax.

Avondale Estates City Manager Clai Brown said the city would’ve received an estimated $3,311,543 over six years if SPLOST had passed. Instead the city will receive HOST funds, which are inconsistent, usually falling between $200,000 to $400,000 annually.

Brown added the money from SPLOST or HOST goes toward road repairs.

Decatur, however, gets almost the same from HOST as SPLOST, or $3.5 million over six years. The passing of SPLOST, however, would’ve meant a tax break for homeowners, City Manager Peggy Merriss said. The owners of a $500,000 home, for instance, would’ve paid more than $1,000 a year less in property taxes.

Merriss said 68 percent of Decatur’s HOST or SPLOST pays the debt on projects already completed such as Decatur Fire Station No. 1, the Decatur Recreation Center, the Beacon Hill Complex and the Public Works Building. The remainder goes mostly toward upcoming transportation projects.