As I tried to explain during the debate couple of nights ago, revitalizing our downtown, as other small cities have done in the past (like Smyrna, Acworth, Woodstock and others) may be the only way for Austell to generate the additional tax revenue needed in order to be able to maintain its current budget obligations as well as to insure that city taxes in the future will remain low. Furthermore, the additional tax revenue generated from a redeveloped downtown can also be invested in other much needed projects like the Sweet Water restoration work (Austell cannot afford to go through another flood like that of 2009). Finally, a revitalized downtown will help promote more development in and around Austell as more builders and other developers …show more content…
Unlike in the past, where our current mayor spent 2.5 million dollars in upgrading sidewalks around downtown, in hope that will attract new businesses our city (that did not work) in this case we will partner with a private developer who will buy and redevelop a large part of our downtown. Our role will be primarily to mediate the purchase and approve a newly proposed city plan (one that fits our city needs). Another issue that was mentioned in the debate was the cheap housing currently being built in Austell. We all know that in the last 7 years, since the market crash of 2008, our city (as with every municipality around the country) suffered with plummeting home values. We all know that during that crisis, homes in many places lost as much as 50% of their value. Since then, seven years have passed and as it seems home values everywhere have mostly recovered, except here in Austell. In fact, in most developed areas around Atlanta homes gained as much as 75% of their original value (prior to 2008). In Austell though homes regained only 30-35% of their lost