Urban3 tells Athens-Clarke County commissioners downtown produces outsized tax revenue while county faces infrastructure shortfall and tax-equity questions

Urban3 principal Joe Minicozzi presented a parcel-level fiscal analysis to the Athens-Clarke County Commission during a public meeting, showing that downtown Athens produces a disproportionately large share of property and sales tax revenue while countywide infrastructure needs leave an estimated budget shortfall.

The analysis, which Urban3 said the county provided data for and asked to be used as a recurring tool, maps tax and sales revenue per acre, public-utility replacement costs, and scenarios for infill projects. Minicozzi told commissioners the analysis is intended to give elected officials a simple, repeatable way to see how land use choices affect the county’s finances.

Minicozzi said the county’s downtown takes up about 0.2% of the county’s land area but produces roughly 8% of property tax revenue, and that downtown parcels have much higher “value per acre” than lower-density suburban or rural parcels. He also highlighted that a large share of downtown land is non‑taxable — Urban3’s materials put countywide non‑taxable acreage at about 17% and downtown non‑taxable at 56% — and said those non‑taxable parcels reduce the pool of revenue-producing property in areas that otherwise produce large per‑acre returns for the tax base.

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