By Kari L. Sands

The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA —During the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners work session Monday, the board and attending individuals received a Fiscal Impact Study of Lowndes County presentation by Jeffery Dorfman, Ph.D. of Dorfman Consulting. The study was conducted after reviewing Lowndes County’s current revenues and expenditures based on land use categories including residential, commercial, and industrial impacts.

Overall, Dorfman said that for every $1 the county spends on houses, it get $0.83 from the residents, and $0.16 from the outsiders to subsidize the service.

“Lowndes citizens don’t pay more than those in other counties, it simply has more non-citizens paying money (sales tax from residents of surrounding counties),” Dorfman said. “Due to the large percentage of revenue collected by the county from non-residents, residential development is essentially break-even. Lowndes does not appear to have much to fear from residential development. You still want to plan well to minimize service costs and keep near that break-even point, but you are in far better shape than most counties in Georgia.”

Concerning cost of services and schools the study found:

- The break even residential home value for the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, without considering schools, is $128,600.

- The break even residential home value for the Lowndes Board of Education, with 1 child in a county school, is $313,900.

- The break even residential home value for the Valdosta City School System, with 1 child in a city school, is $419,000.

- The break even residential home value for the Lowndes Board of Education, with 2 children in a county school is $622,800.

- The break even residential home value for the Valdosta City School System with 2 children in a city school is $833,100.

Concerning taxation people often think that the Conservation Use Program that gives the farming community a property tax relief transfers a large tax burden onto homeowners. However, in reality for a $150,000 home in Lowndes County the Conservation Use Program results in only an additional $16 in property taxes for the homeowner, according to the study.

Increased density and/or clustering of residential development and/or locating residential development as close to existing development as possible are all likely to produce a fiscal surplus for the county and hopefully the schools.

During public hearings, the board will consider a request for a special lighting district for 160 lots at Northside Subdivision Section IX located on North Valdosta Road during tonight’s regular meeting at 5:30. The subdivision’s restrictive covenants establish that lighting will be provided and paid through the county’s special tax lighting district program.