Lawmakers talk budget woes

Rep. McCall told the audience that the Department of Transportation basically has “no money” and that many of their programs are on hold. He said it was unclear when the Hwy. 72 widening project will continue.

He also spoke on a plan to privatize state parks, which he disagrees with.

“They need to be kept accessible to the public – they were built with taxpayer money,” McCall said. “Profit is not the first priority (for the parks).”

He said it was good to see the new feed mill going up along Hwy. 72 outside Comer.

“Madison County is number two in the state in chicken houses, so that (location) seems like a good place,” said McCall.

Rep. Powell, who focused on the budget, said the upcoming 2009 legislative session promises to be an “interesting one.”

“The budget will be the first priority,” Powell said, adding that he is sure the anticipated cuts will mean problems for many, including the public education system. He said state lawmakers will be overwhelmingly consumed with the budget.

Powell said the state is $2 – 3 billion in “the red.”

“We’re $2 billion in the hole right off the bat, if the revenue stream stays the same,” he said.

Powell said during the last major budget shortfall in 1991, there were furloughs, park closings and fee and tax increases.

Powell said the recent closings of several prisons in the state, including nearby I.W. Davis, will “come back and haunt us” since the closings mean mixing those imprisoned for more minor offenses with hardened criminals.

McCall agreed, saying there are 62,000 inmates currently incarcerated in the state, which amounts to the combined populations of Madison, Hart and Elbert counties.

On taxes, Powell said he continues to get more calls from seniors and those without children who maintain they should be exempt from paying school taxes.

“That’s a sign of eroded public confidence in public education,” he said.

And Powell said he expects the governor to move to abolish the homestead exemption on property taxes after 2009.

“The clout of rural Georgia has gone by the wayside,” Powell stated. “The power now rests solely in the metropolitan areas (of the state).”