Whitfield County Board of Education to consider tax agreement for Patterson Farms

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·2 min read

Jun. 2—The Whitfield County Board of Education meets Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Whitfield County Schools central office, 1306 S. Thornton Ave. in Dalton. The board members will hold a work session at the same site at 5:30 p.m. Both meetings are open to the public.

At the meeting, the board members are scheduled to vote on an intergovernmental agreement among the school system and the city of Varnell and Whitfield County that would allow a tax allocation district (TAD) to help fund high-end commercial development at Patterson Farms. A similar vote died for lack of a second at a school board meeting last year.

Superintendent Mike Ewton did not immediately respond to email questions Friday.

The residential portion of Patterson Farms, a development on Cleveland Highway on the south end of Varnell, had a grand opening last year, but developers have said funding from a TAD is necessary to create the high-end commercial part of the project. The site of Patterson Farms was a former horse ranch and was mostly an empty field before development started.

TADs freeze the value at which a property can be taxed for general revenue. Taxes collected on additional value created by improvements to the property are dedicated to pay for infrastructure, public artwork or other amenities to attract a developer or developers to that area.

When a similar TAD agreement was brought before the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners last year it met a similar fate as it did at the school board. Commissioner Barry Robbins motioned to approve an intergovernmental agreement with Varnell and Whitfield County Schools to join in a TAD to help fund infrastructure at Patterson Farms but the motion died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Robby Staten was absent from that meeting, recovering from surgery. He said if he had been at the meeting he would have seconded Robbins' motion and voted for the agreement. He said if the agreement comes before the commissioners again he will vote for it.

Because the measure died for lack of a second and wasn't voted down, it can come before the commissioners again if commissioners agree to put it on a meeting agenda.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen said Friday if the school board approves the agreement he believes commissioners will review it again.

Also Monday, school board members are expected to consider school meal prices for the next school year.

They are also expected to hear a presentation on a tentative 2024 fiscal year budget. The 2024 fiscal year starts July 1. The public will have the opportunity to provide input on the proposed budget. The board is scheduled to hold a second presentation on the budget and vote to approve it on Tuesday, June 20, at 5:30 p.m.

The board is also expected to receive reports from the superintendent and financial and operations updates.