The City of Cartersville will soon be collecting taxes on the full value of property on East Main Street where Kroger is located after it passed a resolution Thursday night to terminate the tax allocation district (TAD). City Attorney Keith Lovell said the debt associated with the TAD was paid off so now the property can be assessed by the county and taxed for its full post-development value.
A TAD allows property owners to continue to pay taxes at the same rate as undeveloped property for a set time so money can be invested into development. Local governments can tax the property at full value once the agreement is terminated after all is fulfilled. In this case, the agreement was for 10 years but the TAD debt was paid in five, according to Lovell.
He said Cartersville is likely the first city in Georgia to pay off a TAD. The land where Kroger and other businesses sit today was once a city landfill. Property developers wanted to hold off on full taxation to clean it up and provide public utilities to the site so it could be developed. To find out more on this and other city business from the meeting, click here to download the information packet.
In other business, the city awarded a 2026 paving contract to the Surface Masters for paving 9.3 miles of roads. The cost isn’t to exceed $2.235 million. Money to pay for the project comes from grants and the 2020 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
Roads included in the project are Pine Forest Road, Hickory Lane, Birch Way, Chestnut Street, Wildwood Drive, Georgia Boulevard, Huntcliff Drive Cambridge Court, Windfield Drive, Jones Mill Road, James Street, Grace Park Drive, Collier Street, Lindsey Drive, Guyton Street, West Lane, Bob White Trail, Twelve Oaks Drive, Stately Oaks Drive, Mulberry Way, Tara Way, Melhana Drive, Gilmer Street, North Bartow Street, Apache Trail, Attaway Drive, Poplar Street, Felton Street, Neel Street, People Hill Court, CaCourt, Goodyear Avenue, Litchefield Road, Gentilly Boulevard, Buford Street, Sunset Circle, Clover Lane, George Street, and Pinecrest Drive.
The city approved the AMI Project closeout document with officials saying that only 1 percent of utility meters remain to be installed. More than 34,000 have been replaced. Cartersville Mayor Matt Santini said the project will serve city residents well because it will allow for closer monitoring by both the city and residents. It will provide for a faster response to problems and modern billing.
Other business included:
- Approval of a loan application for the Red Barn project. This is a “pass-through loan” where the project is funded by other organizations and isn’t costing the city any money.
Approval of the following expenditures:
- RAS Gate Actuator replacement $13,753.34
- Belt Press Roller Assembly $19,920.69
- Yakult Meter Station Fencing $19,938.56
- 2025 Georgia UPC Annual Membership Fee $19,158.61
- Electric Meter purchase $75,820
- Cogsdale Annual maintenance invoice $137,667.22
- Canon C5100 Series Copier purchase $16,897.61
- Fencing for Maurice Heard Gym and Aubrey Street Project $20,160.63
- A fleet vehicle $48,764.72
The city also approved graveling an area at Dellinger Park for additional parking and a memorandum of agreement to accept a $14,000 grant to do an annual resources survey. It also approved selling a 2000 sewer jetter truck to Emerson for $30,000 since the city truck was replaced.
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer for publications in the U.S, Canada, the UK and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio. She is on Facebook, X, YouTube, content on Substack, and has a podcast on Rumble.