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Staff photo by Laura Moon
Click to enlarge photos.By Jon Gillooly
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
MARIETTA - Emotions are expected to run high when the General Assembly convenes on Jan. 14, 2008, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said in a wide-ranging interview with the Marietta Daily Journal.
One reason may be because Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson differ on quite a few issues, from taxation to the Department of Transportation.
The 'GREAT' plan
Cagle said he is not ready to endorse Richardson's so-called "GREAT" plan to replace property taxes with an expanded sales tax.
"As you know, it has changed dramatically from when he initially introduced the legislation. At first, it was a very broad expansion of sales tax to be levied in order to remove property tax. As he got into that process he began to realize through the due diligence that the hole could not be filled with that expansion, and it would put us at a huge competitive disadvantage in Georgia," Cagle said.
The discussion has taught Cagle that Georgians recognize their obligation to pay taxes.
"The question becomes, is it fair? Is it just? Is it predictable? The thing that outrages individuals is that there's no ability to know what my tax is going to be from year after year and the truth of the matter is property taxes have grown higher than the rate of inflation in the population."
The current rate is at $10 billion, which Cagle said is too high.
"It's wrong for individuals to get a property tax bill one year that is 100 percent increase from the year before, and so we need a unified system of assessing property across the state, and we also need some spending restraints particularly relative to the amount of the assessment increase year over year as well as the overall total," he said.
Cagle intends to present a plan when the General Assembly convenes that will put the needed restraints in place.
Asked if he would be willing to give an up or down vote in the Senate if Richardson's GREAT plan passes the House, Cagle said, "That is yet to be determined at this point."
Traffic woes
Shortly after Georgia's Legislature adjourned, Cagle promised to bring forth a statewide transportation plan, but the process has encountered roadblocks.
"There is an enormous amount of inefficiency that exists within the Department of Transportation," Cagle said, noting the department has failed to operate toward an end goal.
One problem, he believes, is the duplicated efforts of various state transportation agencies.
"There are a lot of chiefs and not a lot of Indians," he said.
But the future looks bright with new DOT commissioner Gena Abraham on board.
"I have great confidence in her abilities. Her expertise is going to serve us very well."
Cagle believes once the DOT is properly organized it will carry out 30 percent more projects.
"I believe with the same amount of funding that exists today for transportation that we could do 30 percent more projects if we become focused and create efficiencies," he said.
A funding mechanism he would like to consider for transportation is a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, as the SPLOST has worked effectively for education, he said.
"I don't view that as a tax increase. I view that as putting a proposal before the voters and allowing them to choose how they want to spend it," he said.
Not everyone was happy with the choice of the new DOT commissioner. In this month's Georgia Trend magazine, political columnist Tom Crawford suggests that Richardson may take revenge against DOT board members who voted against his wishes to install Ms. Abraham.
Asked what he thinks about the flap, Cagle said, "I am in complete disagreement with the Speaker on this issue."
Cagle said it is important to note there was a process put in place by DOT board members that involved an interview of various applicants, and an election, with Ms. Abraham chosen as the winner.
"Just because a board member elected to not vote the way you wanted them to vote does not mean that you can disrupt the process, and if I don't get my way then you know there's revenge that's coming forth. That is a very dangerous way to play this game, and I will tell you I have great confidence in the board. Even though there may be some board members that I disagree with on their vote, I'm not going to be revengeful. You know, we've got a state to run. We've got a transportation plan that needs to be put on the table. We're way behind, way behind, and any attempt to delay that process I don't think it's in the best interest of Georgia."
The drought
Cagle has a multipronged plan for surviving the worst drought in Georgia history, a drought he partly blames on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for releasing too much water from Georgia lakes.
"The Corps has truly mismanaged the watershed," he said.
The lieutenant governor denies that rapid growth has anything to do with the drought.
"The reason we're here is not rapid growth in Atlanta. It's not Atlanta taking all the water. It truly is because of a drought. The drinking water for a third of the citizens in our state comes from Lake Lanier, and it's critical that we put drinking water ahead of feeding mussels and endangered species down steam," he said.
He is working on a plan for communities in the event the drought continues, a plan that involves irrigation ponds and intergovernmental connectivity. Improving and expanding the state's reservoirs is another need.
"We get about 50 inches of rainfall annually, which equates to about 50 trillion gallons. Total usage in Georgia for all water, meaning municipal, industrial and agricultural, is about 1.2 trillion. That's why we're going to have a statewide water management plan, and that's why we're putting together a reservoir program. If we manage the resources, and we are able to build the reservoirs to capture that rainfall, we can prepare for the future very easily, but we can't do it if we've got the Corps draining those reservoirs, OK? That's the problem we find ourselves in today."
Grady, education
Cagle applauded the business community for pledging more than $200 million to bail out Atlanta-based Grady Memorial Hospital, which has hemorrhaged money for years.
"I'm optimistic. It looks like the (Grady) board is going to convert and start running it like a business," he said.
There is broad consensus, he believes, for funding trauma centers, of which Grady is one. Cagle would like to see a statewide network between trauma centers, with funding likely to come from the state's general fund.
Richardson has proposed a $10 vehicle tax for funding, Cagle said, which would raise about $80 million. But Cagle opposes Richardson's idea.
"I'm not in favor of a tax increase," he said.
Cagle said he is moreover excited about his plans to allow school districts to become charter systems.
"Yes, it could be an experiment, but it's an experiment that's going to have great success, OK?" he said.
The success will come from empowering local communities to adopt their own education systems.
Perimeters for successes will be defined by the system, and reviewed by a state charter system board, before a contract is reached between the two groups.
"I believe it will be a framework for the entire nation," Cagle said.
jgillooly@mdjonline.com
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