Leadership of City & County
City Summary
The city’s biggest strength has been its consistent leadership - - - - for 40 years Mayor Ford Gravitt has lead the city and in many instances the county (whether the leaders knew it or not). He is recognized as a unique political force in north Georgia and knows all the state representatives, senators, judicial personnel, as well as relevant federal officials.
There is no question the Mayor has contributed positively to the development of Forsyth County. Many pose the case that if the mayor had run the county (and therefore the city) for the last 20 years, the county as we know it today would be far better. However, the hard truth is that the City of Cumming has never been attractive, even with a strong Mayor.
County residents, who can not vote for Mayor, see the city as a business saying we want more for ourselves!! For example on SPLOST VI, the city sued for more money which the county finally gave them including an $8 to $10 million dollar aquatic center. So this 5,400 person city has an aquatic center that most cities of 50,000 folks do not have. They have annexed many adjacent properties by offering benefits like low water costs, minimal development costs, etc. New shopping complexes like the new Market Place are viewed as the city’s right to more sales tax proceeds even if county residents pay 98+% of these taxes.
The city’s attitude seems similar to a Monopoly player who starts off owning Jail, Park Place, Boardwalk, etc. but in this case Jail is the water supply and occasional threats that the water will be sold to other nearby Counties has been an effective hammer. This Monopoly player appears to want as many properties as he can acquire.
The city’s biggest weakness results from it’s strength and spirit to win and have things - - - their motivation appears to get stuff and enjoy “the getting” - - - - - not in creating things to benefit the citizens!
As a result, city household income seriously lags, city growth rate is ¼ the county’s, the city environs are not pretty, convenient, walk-able, or citizen / family friendly. The fairgrounds have little green, no beauty, and look like a 1960’s relic. The myriad of road signs on Hwy 20 west entering Cumming are gross. Compare the City’s new Market Place to the County’s Avenue Forsyth. Both are new - - - which is greener, more pleasant, inviting to just walk around a bit, and adds to the good green ambience of our county? Which looks like a character-less fully paved 1970s design?
County Summary
Contrasted to the city, the county suffers from less consistency. Brian Tam is the only County Commissioner in his second 4 year term. All others are 1 term members and that is fairly normal.
What is consistent, however is the split between those who comply with the combined power of the City, the old time large land owners, the good old boy network, and the developer base which hopes for a return of the rapid growth period, and on the other side, those who support the premise that a BoC member must always be 100 % loyal to the Forsyth County homeowners who elected him.
The City, the old time large land owners, the good old boy network, and developer base group appear to be represented by two and sometimes three Commissioners:
- One Commissioner, P. Bell (before he became commissioner) campaigned against the county BoC approved SPLOST VI in a group encouraged by the mayor who wanted more $$$! The net result was the city sued and was awarded more funds. This commissioner seems to vote for any zoning that adds density & intensity regardless adjoining lower densities and the nearby homeowner’s interests. He states that high density zoning for Lanier golf course is good - - - - but does not mention that if 750 residential units to replace the golf course are approved, the City will take in $3,750,000 in tap fees, and nearby homeowners' house values will decrease.
He has expressed his displeasure at ForsythCRG and is trying to 4 lane Castleberry Road, a lightly traveled road with only single family residential and no commercial. Unfortunately, the mayor sees this as necessary for the city and his two “boys”. Bell & Amos are his instruments.
Bell’s appointee to the planning commission unfairly and publicly berated an honorable commission member who wished to address an apparent un-ethical act - - - a tennis court given by a developer to a commission member, and then called another citizen a Nazi! The tree & apple story appears true here.
- P. Amos, who before becoming a commissioner was a plaintiff with the city during the SPLOST VI law suit against the county, and is part of a family which ranks high in county landholdings. In fact, the city is proposing a SPLOST funded 4 lane road adjacent to his family's 66 acre tract, plus road improvements adjacent to two other family owned tracts at a total estimate of $9,000,000. The county is apparently buying Amos family property for SPLOST projects in the city.
It will be interesting to see if the County attorney or Board Chairman suggest that Amos recuse himself entirely from SPLOST process as final selection involves the interrelated selecting and de-selecting of individual items to reach a final list.
He will be an issue when the topic of Conservation Use is raised at the BoC level as some of his family holdings are in this status which avoids most taxes (the 66 acres close to Market Place pays less than $1,000 per year in taxes). In three years on the planning commission during the go-go growth period he voted yes on 95+% of all re-zoning applications! And in one set of conditions, he was 99% in favor over 2 years!!
When he filed to run for commissioner, he failed to show the vast extent of family properties and after ethics complaints, he filed an addendum. See link to Fox News interview; http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/i-team-county-commission-062410.
Both Amos and Bell appear to think highly of Mayor Gravitt as a great public official. They do not appear at all disturbed that city residents have such low household incomes or that the city has ¼ the growth rate of the county. One cannot expect the good old boy Network to be civic and people minded.
- The third, Brian Tam, we will have to wait and see. If he complies with the Mayor’s demands on SPLOST & LOST, then we will know what camp he is in. That he is politically ambitious is fine as long as lives up to his many promises to the homeowners some of whom believe he has broken.
It is hard to leave the “shelter of The City / Rapid Growth / Good Ole Boy / Rapid Growth Network”. A recent example: the county’s renowned local zoning lawyer, who is a director of United Community Bank (UCB) that the County decided to use for our account, was recently involved in a fund raiser for P. Bell.
See source information at http://www.aboutforsyth.net/v3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6111.
P. Bell under advice of legal counsel recused himself on the (UBC) bank vote as the same bank had issued loans to his family / friends. He recently questioned his own attorney’s decision and may vote on the bank issue.
We hope B. Tam does leave the Network!! It is far better to do good for everyone than a few selfish and / or ambitious people.
The two remaining BoC members, Jim Boff and Todd Levent have shown themselves to be Homeowner oriented. This can be extremely difficult when the majority dictates the agenda in favor of the special interests with which they are allied and who give them plenty of campaign funds. If you agree, email your encouragement to Todd & Jim.