James July-August 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 66
an amphitheater and other amenities. Savannah has directed more
than $700 million in SPLOST revenue for street and drainage needs,
to rebuild playgrounds and athletic
fields, and to refurbish River Street;
improvements that reduce stormflood losses and keep the city’s
tourism economy flourishing.
State policy can accelerate
local momentum through three
practical steps:
1. Protect local revenue tools
and decision making.
Local revenue options and
decision-making have earned voter
trust. Keep those tools flexible, and
resist state pre-emptions that simply increase costs and risks for city
taxpayers.
2. Expand the Rural Workforce
Housing Partnership Fund.
Build on the $120 million the
General Assembly has already
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invested, committing additional recurring state dollars so city leaders
can tailor workforce housing solutions to their cities’ unique needs.
3. Reinforce and expand state–
local infrastructure
partnerships.
Growing proven programs—
Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants (LMIG) and Local
Road Assistance Administration
(LRA) funding, GEFA gas and
water/sewer loans, and the DCA
Downtown Revolving Loan Fund—
can assist cities in generating
increased private investment that
boosts jobs, revenues, and Georgia’s overall economy.
Each proposal honors local decision-making and return on investment, thereby growing the base.
Georgia sits at an inflection
point. Freight volumes through
our ports are climbing, film and
technology clusters are expanding and advanced manufacturing
is chasing reliable infrastructure
and livable communities. Without
strong cities, those opportunities
will land elsewhere, taking tomorrow’s payrolls with them.
Now picture a Friday afternoon. Kids are splashing at the city
pool, neighbors gather downtown
for a free concert and a line forms
outside a new restaurant launched
with help from the downtown
development authority. Scenes like
this unfold every day in 537 cities
across the state. Let’s work to keep
them rising.
I invite lawmakers, business
leaders, and readers of James to
partner with your hometowns.
When Georgia’s cities rise, the
whole state soars.
Larry Hanson is the CEO and executive director
of the Georgia Municipal Association.
