Recommendation to make downtown safer would bring more taxes | The Augusta Chronicle

Augusta’s getting soaked. Never mind the weather. The city’s in danger of being flooded with acronyms – LOST, SPLOST, T-SPLOST, and now Sheriff Richard Roundtree, with input from City Administrator Fred Rus­sell, has floated another one: CPD.

The CPD, which stands for Continually Patrolled Dis­trict, would be a new tax for property owners in the central business district to pay for more police protection.

As you know, nature abhors a vacuum and so do elected officials, especially when it comes to taxes. Since the Bus­i­ness Improvement District met its untimely end – or timely, if you’re of that persuasion – last year, city officials are rushing to fill the void. They’ve just got to convince a majority of property owners in the district to drown themselves in more taxes.

The CPD was one of several recommendations Round­tree proposed for making downtown safer, including installing 32 security cameras on Broad Street and Riverwalk Augusta.

via Recommendation to make downtown safer would bring more taxes | The Augusta Chronicle.