Gov. Perdue's press secretary sought Thursday morning to clarify a misinterpretation of the governor's action which, while technically not a veto, still stops the money from coming to Gainesville.
"The governor has directed the department to spend the money in a manner that is consistent with the mission of the agency," Bert Brantley said.
That mission, Brantley added, does not include using money for parking decks. "It was strange for it to be in the department's budget."
Brantley says this wasn't the only such line-item in the budget. There were others, he said, involving projects all over the state which the governor also rejected.
Gainesville City Manager Bryan Shuler questioned early morning news reports on the matter during a discussion with a reporter from AccessNorthGa.com at the start of a City Council work session Thursday morning.
TECHNICAL COLLEGES & WELCOME CENTER
Gov. Perdue vetoed funds for some technical college facilities in the area.
He rejected legislation that would have provided money for an auditorium on Lanier Tech's Forsyth County campus; a 25,000-square-foot expansion of Lanier Tech's Dawsonville campus; and, an aviation/technology school at Appalachian Tech in Ellijay.
Also getting the ax: money for a welcome center in Tallulah Falls.
Wednesday was the last day for Perdue to either sign or veto legislation passed by the Georgia General Assembly this year. (See separate stories.)
According to Perdue's office, these are the specifics of the bills outlined above:
*TALLULAH FALLS: This language authorizes the appropriation of $170,860 in debt service to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Transportation, specifically for the construction of a welcome center for Tallulah Falls on the Rabun County side through the issuance of $2,000,000 in 20-year bonds.
*CUMMING: This language authorizes the appropriation of $128,145 to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Technical and Adult Education, specifically to construct an auditorium on the Forsyth County campus, Lanier Technical College, through the issuance of not more than $1,500,000 in principal amount of General Obligation Debt for 20 years.
*DAWSONVILLE: This language authorizes the appropriation of $426,723 to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Technical and Adult Education, specifically to construct a 25,600 sq.ft. building expansion on the Dawson County campus, Lanier Technical College, through the issuance of not more than $4,995,000 in principal amount of General Obligation Debt for 20 years.
*ELLIJAY: This language authorizes the appropriation of $85,430 to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Technical and Adult Education, specifically to construct an aviation technology/maintenance school at the Gilmer County Airport at Appalachian Technical College, through the issuance of not more than $1,000,000 in principal amount of General Obligation Debt for 20 years.
*GAINESVILLE: The General Assembly seeks to earmark $2,000,000 for the City of Gainesville for the demolition and renovation of a parking deck within the Business Recruitment and Expansion program. Funds appropriated for individual communities for special projects should be contained in Local Assistance Grants in the Department of Community Affairs budget. In the interest of maximizing the return on investment for all Georgians, the Department is authorized to utilize these funds toward their international marketing and recruitment efforts or other priorities consistent with stated purpose of the program and the general law powers of the Department.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/6/89079