September Revenues Up, But Long Road to Full Recovery

State revenues in September were up 5.7 percent over revenues in September 2009, according to data released by the Georgia Department of Revenue. That is certainly good news, but Georgia has a long road to recovery in revenues.

Net revenues in the first quarter (July-September) were 7.4 percent above first quarter 2009 revenues. However, fewer income tax refunds were issued in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 2009, giving 2010 a temporary boost in July and August. Removing the anomaly of fewer refunds, gross revenues grew by 1.9 percent in the first quarter. The revenue estimate for the fiscal year is currently set at 4.2 percent.

"Consider a worker who has his pay cut by 20 percent, and then receives a 5 percent raise. The pay raise is great news, but he is still going to have trouble paying his bills, much less saving for his kid's college education," said Alan Essig, executive director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. "That's what the state faces today. Revenues are growing, but we have a long way to go to regain the ground we lost. The state will continue to struggle to pay for essential services or invest in infrastructure unless leaders reform and improve our tax structure."

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SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Deadline in Georgia is June 24

(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses affected by the severe storms and flooding that occurred from Sept. 18 through Oct. 8, 2009 in Georgia that June 24 is the filing deadline for Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the following counties are eligible to apply: Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dade, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Fulton, Gordon, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Meriwether, Morgan, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Rockdale, Spalding, Stephens, Troup, Walker, Walton and Whitfield in Georgia; Cherokee, Cleburne, DeKalb and Randolph in Alabama; Oconee in South Carolina; and Hamilton County in Tennessee.

Loans are available up to $2 million for eligible entities that suffered substantial economic injury from the disaster. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. These loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

The interest rate on these loans is 4 percent with a maximum term of 30 years. The SBA determines the amount of economic injury and the terms of each loan based on the financial circumstances of the applicant. Eligibility for the program is based on the size and type of business, and its financial resources.

To obtain a loan application, businesses should contact the SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for people with speech and hearing disabilities) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business disaster loan applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Victims may visit the SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ to apply for disaster loans.

The deadline for economic injury applications is June 24, 2010.

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Opinion: Tax Collections Sink Down Another Month: State's Ability to Fulfill Obligations Compromised

Governor Perdue released the revenue collections data for September, marking an entire quarter of dismal revenue -- an average of 14.2 percent decline from the previous year.

"Georgia's revenue has been in a consistent state of decline for the last nine months," said Alan Essig, executive director of the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute.

"This is evidence, along with Georgia's horrible unemployment rates, that the state will not reach the governor's recent goal of just a 3.5 percent decline from last year for this fiscal year."

"Georgia has already implemented over $2 billion in cuts from public services in this year's budget. The state must consider additional revenues for a more balanced approach to reducing our chronic deficit," said Essig. The vast majority of other states, including our southern neighbors, are combining raising revenues with cuts.

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UGA Arts Festival to Bring Lively Four-Day Celebration to UGA Campus in September in Conjunction with Lamar Dodd School of Art Building Dedication

Music, drama, art and poetry will enliven the University of Georgia campus during the first UGA Arts Festival, a four-day celebration to be held Sept. 4-7 at the Performing and Visual Arts Complex to coincide with the dedication of the new Lamar Dodd School of Art building.

The festival will feature numerous performances and exhibitions, all open free to the public. Featured events include a performance of French playwright Yasmina Reza’s award-winning comedy Art and readings by internationally known poet and translator Coleman Barks. Also on hand will be the Amadeus Trio as part of the Franklin College Chamber Music Series.

“The arts are so important to all of us and especially at the University of Georgia,” said Garnett S. Stokes, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, one of the sponsors of the event. “The UGA Arts Festival is an invitation to the Athens community that I believe will dramatically focus our attention on just how rich and varied arts are on campus.”

The festival kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 2 p.m. with the dedication of the new $40 million building for the Lamar Dodd School of Art on East Campus. The school, founded in 1937, is one of the largest university art programs in the nation. The more than 1,000 art majors study such areas as studio art, design, art education and art history.

“The Arts Festival will display both the outstanding facilities that have been developed for the visual and performing arts on East Campus and the achievements of the talented artists on our faculty,” said Betty Jean Craige, director of the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, another sponsor of the Festival.“The festival will be a cornucopia of aesthetic treats—art exhibits and musical, theatrical and dance performances—that will show the community the pleasure and intellectual excitement that the University offers in the arts."

Also on Thursday, the Reza play will be performed by faculty from the department of theatre and film studies.

“UGA has tremendously rigorous and dynamic programs in all of the arts,” said David Saltz, head of the department of theatre and film studies. “It’s very rare that people—even faculty and students within the various art disciplines themselves—have a chance to see the scope of what’s happening here on campus.

“The opening of the new art building on East Campus is a perfect symbol of UGA’s commitment to education and research in all the arts.”

On Friday, Sept. 5, events will include an outdoor stage sponsored by UGA’s Music Business Program; performances by the CORE Concert Dance Company and the Amadeus Trio; and a reading, “Lion of the Heart,” performed by Coleman Barks, who will be accompanied by Art Rosenbaum, who is equally well known for his work as an artist and as a music folklorist. Barks is known worldwide as a poet and translator of the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. Rosenbaum is a painter, muralist and illustrator, as well as a collector and performer of traditional American folk music. Both Barks and Rosenbaum are retired UGA faculty members.

The Willson Center will in addition present “Music for a Summer Afternoon,” featuring faculty members from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, and there will be an opening receptions for exhibitions in the galleries of the Lamar Dodd School of Art as well an opening reception at the Georgia Museum of Art.

Georgia football will take center stage on Saturday, Sept. 6, when the UGA Bulldogs play Central Michigan in Sanford Stadium, and there will also be an open practice of the Redcoat Marching Band at 9 a.m. on Woodruff Field.

Sunday, Sept. 7, will be family arts day, featuring acting, art, dancing and music. The hands-on events this day include a “Beaux Arts Ball” community waltz class and an improv performance and workshop of Alex and the Backpack, one of several theatre, art, dance and music programs for children.

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