On May 12, 1740, Georgia forces under James Oglethorpe took Fort Diego in Florida from the Spanish and mocked the defenders’ jean shorts.
The worst American defeat of the Revolutionary War occurred at Charleston, South Carolina on May 12, 1780. American Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who surrendered that day would later accept the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.
On May 12, 1789, the Society of St. Tammany was founded in New York and would grow to a dominant home for political bosses. Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics
George Washington visited Georgia on May 12, 1791. From Purysburg, South Carolina, Georgia officials escorted Washington on a barge twenty-five miles down the Savannah River to Savannah, where he would stay four days.
On May 12, 1864, Confederate General Joseph Johnston pulled his Army of Tennessee and Georgia back to Resaca, Georgia. In Virginia, Major General John B. Gordon saved the life, or prevented the capture of, General Robert E. Lee at Spotsylvania. After the war, Gordon would serve as Governor of Georgia and United States Senator.
On May 12, 1864, the Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets awoke in Staunton, where they had marched from Lexington 18 miles the previous day; after another 19 miles headed north up the Shenandoah Valley, the would make camp at Mt. Crawford, near Harrisonburg. The cadets ranged in age from fifteen to twenty-five years.
On May 12, 1970, Georgia National Guard troops were mobilized to end race riots that had broken out the night before in Augusta. On that same day, Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs, my father’s favorite player as a youth, hit his 500th home run.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Governor Brian Kemp‘s office announced that net state revenues for April are up more than 52% in 2021 over the year prior. From the press release:
The State of Georgia’s April net tax collections totaled more than $2.80 billion for an increase of $963.7 million, or 52.4 percent, compared to April 2020 when net tax collections totaled almost $1.84 billion. Year-to-date, net tax collections totaled $21.74 billion for an increase of nearly $2.51 billion, or 13.1 percent, compared to the previous fiscal year when net tax revenues totaled $19.23 billion after ten months.
Year-over-year comparisons of state net tax collections for the spring quarter of April-June are made difficult by the 2020 deferral of state tax filing deadlines for quarterly and annual income taxes to July 15, 2020 and the 2021 deferral of the annual individual income tax filing deadline to May 17th. While annual totals as of June 30th will be comparable, monthly year-over-year comparisons may not be appropriate since financial results were impacted by the economic implications of the Coronavirus pandemic and the aforementioned shifting of return filing deadlines.
Individual Income Tax: Net Individual Income Tax collections for the month totaled $1.22 billion, for an increase of $371 million, or 43.6 percent, compared to April 2020 when net Individual Tax revenues totaled $851.7 million.
Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections for April increased by $355.3 million, or 35.7 percent, to a total of $1.35 billion for the month. Net Sales and Use Tax increased by $220.5 million, or 44.8 percent, compared to last year, when net sales tax totaled $492.1 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $624.2 million for an increase of $132.8 million, or 27 percent, while Sales Tax Refunds increased by nearly $2 million, or 16.2 percent, compared to FY 2020.
Corporate Income Tax: Net Corporate Income Tax collections totaled $453.3 million in April, for an increase of $362 million, or 396.2 percent, over last year when net Corporate Tax revenues totaled $91.4 million.
Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections were down $64.8 million, or -27.2 percent, compared to last year on account of a large, one-time settlement payment that resulted from ongoing audit activities during FY 2020.
Motor Vehicle – Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees rose by $18.2 million, or 85.1 percent, in April, while Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections increased by $19.5 million, or 38 percent, compared to FY 2020.
From the Capitol Beat News Service:
Georgia tax collections soared 52.4% last month compared to April of last year, a huge increase attributed more to changes in state tax filing deadlines than a burst of economic activity.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tax filing deadline last year was delayed from mid-April until mid-July. This year’s deadline falls on May 17.
Corporate income tax revenues skyrocketed by 396.2%, resulting from an increase in payments of 572.9% coupled with a 50% decrease in refunds.
Tax receipts covering the first 10 months of fiscal 2021 offer a more realistic comparison than the April numbers skewed by the delay in filing deadlines. From last July through April, the state brought in $21.74 billion in taxes, up a healthy 13.1% over the first 10 months of the last fiscal year.
While the income tax filing deadline is this week so numbers may change, the figures so far suggest Kemp will have a large surplus heading into his re-election year, 2022. That will give him money to spend on the teacher pay raises he promised when he first ran in 2018, and possibly the kind of tax cuts GOP candidates traditionally like to run on.
Besides the boon in state tax collections, Georgia is also receiving $4.7 billion or so from the latest federal COVID-19 relief plan.
The General Assembly in June 2020 cut the budget by 10% because it feared tax collections would plummet. That didn’t happen, and Kemp this week signed a new state budget for the fiscal 2022, which begins July 1, that backfills 60% of the cuts made to education and most state agencies, provides targeted raises and borrows more than $1 billion for construction projects.
Governor Kemp went to Valdosta yesterday, according to the Valdosta Daily Times.
Gov. Brian Kemp came to Valdosta Tuesday to tout the state budget but tried soothing concerns regarding a possible fuel shortage.
“The most important thing to remember is that Colonial continues to indicate that this is a short-term problem, so we want to encourage everyone to be patient,” he said. “Don’t make a run on the pumps and fill up every can you’ve got at the house. Get what you need but don’t get more than you need.”
“Give us a few days to get the supply chain back up and running,” Kemp said.
As for the budget that Kemp signed May 10, he said it will set Georgia for a “safer, brighter and more prosperous future” in the wake of the pandemic.
The state budget won’t raise taxes but won’t cut essential services either, he said. It also won’t spur widespread furloughs or layoffs.
“We have preserved our AAA bond rating, our rainy day fund remains incredibly strong and our continued support of economic development efforts have brought historic levels of job growth and investment as the number one state in the country for business,” Kemp said, referencing the latter being the case for eight years in a row.
The state gave $1 million to the tourism industry across the state during the pandemic which doesn’t seem like much, Kemp said; it still kept many places open and allowed Georgia to shine when people had almost nowhere to go.
“When other states were closed down, their state parks were closed,” he said. “You know where people came? To Georgia because we were open. That helped keep people going – small business people – and it helped people realize what a great asset we have in our state.”
Court system slowdowns are impacting garbage pickup in Columbus, according to WTVM.
Deputy City Manager Lisa Goodwin tells News Leader 9 that the shortage of inmates right now is causing about a two week delay in bulk and yard waste pickup for the city. Fewer people going to trial means fewer people doing time behind bars, and fewer inmates available to help with trash pickup. However, the Fountain City has a solution now.
“Council did approve the service to be contracted out with five trucks and a three man crew for 5 days a week. That will be augmenting our services that we currently provide. So we’re still out there,” said Goodwin. “This service will just help us, so that we’re able to pick up this yard waste that’s out there. We have a lot of brown waste that’s out there, which means it’s been out there for a long time…. It’s a monthly cost of 148,150 every month, or 1.7 million dollars annually. Of course, Muscogee County Jail, they’re just not receiving anymore inmates to the camp.”
Savannah is seeing an uptick in Fentanyl overdoses, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Since 2018 suspected overdoses have increased 1,200% in Chatham County, from 28 suspected overdoses recorded the first year to 368 in 2020. This year, from Jan. 1 to April 19, there have been 336 suspected overdoses.
Fentanyl, a synthetic and inexpensive opioid that has become a popular ingredient with illicit pill makers whose goods are sold by street dealers, has contributed significantly to the spike. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and is often mix fentanyl with heroin as well as with pain-killing pills.
Fentanyl-related deaths and the use of Naloxone, which is administered to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses, have increased over the last several years.
The increase in overdoses aisn’t unique to Savannah or even Georgia. Over the last few years overdoses tied to opioids have become a national crisis.
According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from June 2019 to May 2020 there were 81,000 drug overdose deaths reported across the country. It was the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period.
The data showed that synthetic opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl, were the primary driver of the increases in overdose deaths, increasing 38.4% over the 12-month period.
The Board of Regents is rebooting the search for a new Chancellor for the University System of Georgia, according to the AJC.
The 19-member board also said it would appoint an acting chancellor if no candidate for the position is selected by June 30, the date current chancellor, Steve Wrigley, is set to retire.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported in March that some board members wanted to put former Gov. Sonny Perdue in the job of leading the public university system, one of most influential jobs in state government. Many students and faculty pushed back against the idea, noting Perdue has no experience in higher education leadership. The AJC has reported there wasn’t yet enough support among the Regents to tap Perdue for the post.
Parker Executive Search, which was hired to conduct a national search for the system’s chancellor, wrote in an email to Wrigley last week that “misinformation throughout the search no longer allows us to fulfill our obligation, and it is with great disappointment we resign from the Chancellor search going forward.” The email did not elaborate on what was the misinformation and said it would not publicly discuss its work.
Atlanta City Council member Antonio Brown has thrown his hat in the ring for the mayoral election, according to the AJC.
Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Brown has filed paperwork with the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission that will allow him to begin raising funds in this year’s race to become the city’s 61st mayor.
The filing comes just days after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced her decision to not seek a second term. Brown could formally announce his candidacy as soon as Friday.
Brown joins two other candidates: City Council President Felicia Moore and attorney Sharon Gay, who used to serve as former deputy chief of staff to former mayor Bill Campbell.
The councilman is currently under indictment on several federal fraud charges. Prosecutors say Brown lied about his income on applications to obtain loans and credit cards used for personal purchases. All of the alleged incidents occurred years before he won the council seat in 2019.
Glynn County public schools will require masks for the rest of the school year, according to The Brunswick News.
The Muscogee County Board of Education is considering relaxing COVID restrictions for the number of guests at graduation ceremonies, according to WTVM.
Bibb County commissioners are considering raising the admission price to Lake Tobesofkee, according to 13WMAZ.
A resolution introduced to Bibb County commissioners could raise fees for admission.
The cost to get into the park would be $3 per person for anyone over 6 years old.
Right now, it costs $350 to rent the enclosed pavilion at Claystone Park, but the price would jump to $800 depending on when you are renting.
The rental fee for the upper open shelter pavilion at Sandy Beach Park would be $225 per day, up from $175.
The boat launch fee for the recreation areas would remain $5, and camping fees for waterfront sites will stay $30 per night.
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