https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE Expo
    • Calendar of Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Administration


Private cities debate spreads to Georgia

Private cities debate spreads to Georgia

The Georgia legislature passed a constitutional amendment this spring to allow the creation of infrastructure development districts (IDDs). If voters
  • Written by Annie Gentile
  • 1st June 2007

The Georgia legislature passed a constitutional amendment this spring to allow the creation of infrastructure development districts (IDDs). If voters approve, private developers will be able to issue tax-free bonds to pay for infrastructure in the communities they build and assess homeowners for the long-term repayment of the bonds. Various forms of IDDs exist in 17 states and are under consideration in several more, but some organizations oppose their spread.

Supporters of Georgia’s legislation, such as the Atlanta-based Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), say it will encourage development and relieve local governments from paying some infrastructure costs. The Georgia bill is based on a 1980 Florida statute, says Rob Willis, a lobbyist with the Atlanta-based Troutman Sanders law firm that helped draft the bill. “We got a lot of input from residents, developers, and county officials in Florida [and] Texas,” he says. “[IDDs] are the ultimate impact fee, a user-pay scenario where development pays for development.”

Critics call it “private cities legislation,” saying it will allow real estate developers to create their own quasi-governments with little public oversight while providing few protections to homeowners should the developments fail. “The concept is a good one, but there is room for abuse,” says Joe Gorman, president of the Lady Lake, Fla., Property Owners Association. For example, at The Villages, a 65,000-resident retirement community in an IDD in central Florida, developers typically appoint representatives to serve on district government boards, and those appointees often make decisions for the entire community that further the developer’s interests, Gorman says. Additionally, while homeowners pay an assessment for common properties, such as golf courses and swimming pools, the developer retains ownership and may sell the property back to the district at grossly inflated prices, Gorman says.

Environmentalist groups, such as the Sierra Club, are skeptical about the Georgia legislation. “We hate the idea,” says Mark Woodall, legislative chair for the club’s Georgia chapter. Woodall says Florida IDDs are more prevalent in rapidly growing communities, and, therefore, could be located near Atlanta, the fastest growing metro area in the United States. “We shouldn’t be encouraging any more big development [in metro-Atlanta],” he says.

Clint Mueller, ACCG’s legislative director, says he hopes IDDs can be used as a growth-management tool and a way to pay for infrastructure without burdening counties. “It will be a big effort to educate the public about them,” he says.

While the national trend to establish IDDs is growing, most states — except for Florida, California and Texas — limit the districts to single-purpose functions, says Florida State University Urban Planning Professor Tim Chapin. “Local governments love [the broader-scoped IDDs] because they are not liable for any defaults,” he says. “At the end of the day, the homeowners are on the hook for their share of the debt.”

IDDs in Texas vary widely in design, with most focusing on a single utility like water or sewer service, while others more closely resemble the Florida IDDs, according to Brian Rider, an adjunct law professor at the University of Texas in Austin. They are prominent in Houston, he says, but are frowned upon in Austin. Hundreds of thousands of Texas homes have been built using the districts. “People readily buy into that program,” Rider says.

Annie Gentile is a Vernon, Conn.-based freelance writer.

Tags: Administration

Most Recent


  • Mental health
    Survey from U.S. Conference of Mayors details mental health crisis faced by cities
    Exacerbated by the pandemic, mental health has become a key mayoral issue over the last several years. A new survey published recently by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USMC) describes these challenges in detail.  “Mayors are sounding the alarm on the mental health crisis in the U.S.,” said Hillary Schieve, mayor of Reno, Nev., incoming […]
  • cybersecurity
    State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program: Where local governments must allocate funds to support the future of cybersecurity
    This past February, the Department of Homeland Security’s State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program began to distribute funds to states with approved cybersecurity plans. For budget and resource strapped state, local and territorial governments (STLGs), these grants enable crucial cybersecurity investments to protect our nation from unprecedented cybersecurity risks and help bridge the gap between […]
  • landfills
    Keeping reusable stuff out of landfills: Organization redistributes office furniture and more to nonprofits, other groups
    Tons of office furniture ends up in landfills, and it could get worse as office workers continue to work from home rather than return to the office. Green Standards, a specialized environmental firm that works with corporations and government organizations to redistribute surplus office furniture, equipment and supplies, is working to make a difference. The […]
  • citizen
    How to move to a citizen-focused engagement model
    We know that engaged citizens play a critical role in helping make government agencies more transparent, more effective and more accountable. In fact, putting increased attention on digital government services and the citizen experience was ranked as one of the biggest changes that state chief information officers expected to continue post-pandemic. But too often, many […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • How local governments can get ahead of the infrastructure wave: Strategies to mitigate risk
  • Prioritizing rapid restore leads to stronger ransomware attack recovery
  • Why health care should never go “back to normal”

White papers


5 reasons why Plan Examiners need Objective Trapeze

30th May 2023

7 Permitting & Licensing Fails Slowing Community Growth

24th May 2023

The Secret Ingredient to Local Government Employee Retention

23rd May 2023
view all

Webinars


How to Centralize and Build a Grants Management Process at your Organization

24th May 2023

Making Permitting Easier: What We’ve Learned Helping America’s Largest Cities Improve Their Permitting Process

16th May 2023

Digital Property Tax Collection: Tales from the Trenches of Modernization

16th May 2023
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


10 best suburbs for city-like living

1st June 2023

Gallery: Annual index ranks America’s top performing cities; most are in the West

30th May 2023

Gallery: Top 10 American cities for seasonal and summer jobs

25th May 2023
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

How decentralized identity technology can make access to government services more equitable dlvr.it/SqRHBF

9th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Survey from U.S. Conference of Mayors details mental health crisis faced by cities dlvr.it/SqQffD

9th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Federal government launches $11B in green energy grants for rural utilities dlvr.it/SqNFBH

8th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program: Where local governments must allocate funds to support the future of c… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

8th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Boston’s commuter rail system is outdated and needs an overhaul, according to advocacy report dlvr.it/SqKHmC

7th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

San Antonio-based study highlights effectiveness of urban farms dlvr.it/SqGDbh

6th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Keeping reusable stuff out of landfills: Organization redistributes office furniture and more to nonprofits, other… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

6th June 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Police response to homelessness is inherently punitive dlvr.it/SqCFwh

5th June 2023

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.