Property-Sale Initiative Is Key to Improving Augusta's Fiscal Health

Summary

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Over the past several months, there has been a great deal of discussion regarding our city's current budget woes. One recurring issue has been the need for more available revenue streams to accompany necessary cuts in an effort to put our city on the road to a prosperous financial future. Several months ago, I brought forward an initiative that will serve as a catalyst to do just that.

In the April 18 meeting of the Augusta Commission, my proposal to move forward with inventorying and marketing 11 pieces of city- owned property deemed as surplus was unanimously approved. My reasoning for establishing the initiative was simple: In running our city like a business, I felt that it was time to evaluate our nonperforming assets and put them back in the tax base to generate much-needed tax revenue. The initiative has had the desired effect of bringing forth proposals on many of these properties, while at the same time allowing our government to put in place a policy for disposing of surplus properties for the first time in its history.

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Extract

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Property-Sale Initiative Is Key to Improving Augusta's Fiscal Health

ONE CONCRETE example of how this initiative can lead to further innovative ways to address our budget situation came three weeks ag...

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