Third, consolidate some things and privatize others. Savannahians should elect a mayor and City Council that promises to give Chatham County 12 months notice before doing away with city police, recreation, jail, etc. The present politicians just will never give up power. Richmond Hill recently privatized a couple of areas and expects a 20-percent savings. The Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education finally figured out that it was cheaper to let a private firm run the buses.
Property values increase, and that's good, but then taxes do too, and that's bad.
However, those increased taxes, plus more, are needed to make everything nice for the tourists and to attract even more tourists. The trade center will compete with the Civic Center, which already loses money, and even then the trade center will lose money, too. Individual businesses will make more money, but somehow the taxpayer will pay more. If the politicians do anything more to help us out, we'll all be broke. Perhaps not yet, because the city's Historic Review Board can still raise flaccid hands of protest whenever new and fresh ideas appear.