ACC commissioners will meet soon with state legislators who represent Athens. But commissioners have disagreed with some legislators in the past—especially about wanting to raise the local hotel/motel tax—and are skittish about alienating them by asking for too much.

They’d like to see state laws support local efforts to increase recycling; for example, a citizens committee recommended requiring a 10-cent charge for both paper and plastic shopping bags to encourage the use of reusable bags. But such a stringent requirement is “not going anywhere,” commissioner Andy Herod said—so commissioners may ask for the surcharge on plastic bags only. Requiring manufacturers to use recyclable materials, or to take back hard-to-recycle items, would also help, the citizens’ committee said, and the use of plastics other than easily recyclable #1 and #2 types should be discouraged.

Similarly, Commissioner David Lynn questioned whether commissioners should even ask for new taxes the legislators won’t support. For now, raising the hotel tax is off the table, commissioners agreed. But they will ask for tax reform at the state level: a more “progressive” income tax and, perhaps, sales taxes on services (as well as goods). And Mayor Heidi Davison suggested collecting sales tax on Internet purchases. “People are going to the web to make purchases, and they’re not paying sales tax on those,” she said. “It puts local businesses at a disadvantage.” And the costs of adding tax exemptions need to be evaluated, said commissioner Andy Herod. “There’s all sorts of exemptions in the state code that have been there for 85 years."

How about eliminating the state’s requirement for adding fluoride to local water (to prevent tooth decay)? The necessity of the process has been questioned, as have its health benefits. But “before I… sign off on this, I want to hear from an expert,” Herod demurred. Fluoridation is widely used (and endorsed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control), but controversial in some quarters.

John Huie