Ga. 9 widening project comes to halt in Milton ► PAGE 5
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State tax revenues continue to decline By DAVE WILLIAMS Capitol Beat News Service ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections continued to fall last month, dropping 1.1% compared to May of last year, the state Department of Revenue reported. With just one month remaining in the current fiscal year, tax revenues are down by 1.2% compared to
the first 11 months of fiscal 2023. However, that doesn’t account for the fact the state wasn’t collecting sales taxes on gasoline and other motor fuels during the first half of the last fiscal year. As a result, the 11 months that ended May 31 saw a net decrease in tax revenues of 4.3% from fiscal 2023. Individual income tax receipts for
May were down 3.3% compared to the same month last year, driven largely by a 32.9% decline in individual tax return payments. Net sales tax collections rose slightly last month, increasing by 0.4% compared to May a year ago. Corporate incomes taxes fell by 35.1% percent in May due to the combination of a 23.1% decline in payments and a huge increase of
497.5% in refunds issued by the revenue agency. With the state likely to show tax revenues down at the end of fiscal 2024 June 30, Gov. Brian Kemp has been warning of leaner times ahead. However, the $16 billion budget surplus the state has built up during the last three years should provide ample cushion to avoid major spending cuts.
Divided County Commission scraps whole health building FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Recent efforts to establish a mental health facility in Forsyth County have all but ended. The county’s Board of Commissioners signaled their intent June 11 to redirect nearly $30 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding originally set aside for a whole health building on the new Freedom Parkway administration complex, and use it instead for infrastructure to return treated water from the Fowler Water Reclamation Facility to Lake Lanier.
The whole health building was planned to house a mental health center operated by Avita Community Partners as well as a sexual assault nurse examiner unit and the County Health Department. After construction estimates came in $12 million over budget, commissioners voted in January to scrap the plan for the time being. The June 11 work session vote of 3-2 to redirect the funds still has to pass a formal vote June 20. The item is on the meeting’s consent agenda, although it could be singled out for further discussion.
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Forsyth County commissioners debate the fate of a whole health building that had originally been planned for the new administrative campus at a June 11 work session.
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By JAKE DRUKMAN newsroom@appenmedia.com