Joe Munekozi, principal of Urban3, presented an economic ‘‘geo-accounting’’ analysis to Athens-Clarke County showing that a very small downtown footprint produces a disproportionate share of the county’s property-tax revenue while large, lower-density areas and transportation infrastructure create the largest fiscal shortfalls.

“We were hired by Athens-Clarke County to do an economic analysis of your community,” Munekozi said. He summarized the study’s core finding: downtown takes up about 0.2% of the county’s land but produces roughly 8% of property-tax revenue, a productivity ratio he described as about 1 to 39.

The analysis mapped land value per acre and compared building types. Munekozi reported downtown land averaged about $2,400,000 per acre in land value, while typical big-box retail (the report’s Walmart examples) averaged about $500,000 per acre. Several mixed-use and multi-story parcels in the downtown and in neighborhoods such as Five Points and Normaltown showed per-acre values many times higher than suburban retail lots; the single most potent parcel in the model reached about $67,600,000 per acre.

Munekozi also presented the county’s infrastructure liabilities mapped against revenues. He said the county now spends roughly $26 million annually on transportation operations and capital but should be spending closer to $47 million to maintain the road network and reserves. That shortfall, he said, is the largest infrastructure deficit; spreading the transportation deficit across the population equates to roughly $13 per person per month to close the gap. Stormwater and sewer shortfalls were smaller in his summary.

The presentation included a countywide revenue figure of about $361,000,000 and a modeled operating gap the consultant described as about $12,000,000 per year; Munekozi noted another comparison figure of $29,000,000 that the model also shows and said the analysis would be refined in follow-up work. He cautioned that statewide policy choices can affect local fiscal capacity, citing Georgia’s recent property-value growth cap adopted in 2024 as an example that can limit assessed-value growth even as market prices rise.

Munekozi recommended the county prioritize infill and mixed-use development that builds on existing infrastructure, work with regional partners and the University of Georgia on coordinated development, and apply the maps and models to evaluate proposed projects. He illustrated the fiscal effect of seven proposed local projects, saying the seven combined could add about $3,000,000 in net positive fiscal impact and narrow, but not eliminate, the operating gap.

Munekozi emphasized that density increases potency and that parking and low-density land consumption dilute value: “Productivity comes from density,” he said. He concluded that the visual maps and per-acre accounting can help officials weigh trade-offs and better understand long-term maintenance liabilities when considering annexation, zoning changes, or infrastructure investments.

The presentation was delivered as an informational briefing; no formal action or vote was recorded in the transcript.