Your morning jolt: A go-go, GOP county pitches a tax hike

This may be the most underappreciated political story of the day, from my AJC colleague Pat Fox:

For the first time in six years, Gwinnett County residents face a higher tax rate on property, and city residents will be hit hardest.

County officials announced Monday that residents who own a $200,000 home can, on average, expect to pay about $180 to $208 more in county property taxes this year. The increase comes in the wake of a weakened economy and an anticipated $1.6 billion decline in residential property values.

The current millage rate of 10.97 mills will go up by 25 percent — or about 2.87 mills — for residents of unincorporated Gwinnett. Most city residents will be taxed at an additional 3.31 mills.

When a Republican-dominated county like Gwinnett proposes a tax increase, you know the world as we know it is coming to an end. No longer can metro Atlanta’s go-go counties finance the present with future prospects.

And below may be the weirdest political story of the news cycle — though the day is still young, and and a gathering of the Republican National Committee could still produce something even more strange. This from Politico:

In an unusual attempt to forge an alliance between two of the most prominent families in American politics, John Coale, a Washington-area Democratic donor and onetime adviser to Sarah Palin, urged the conservative Alaska governor to use her political action committee to help retire the presidential campaign debt of Hillary Clinton.

Coale, a wealthy trial attorney and the husband of Fox News talk show host Greta Van Susteren, approached Palin with the improbable plan in February while in Alaska with his wife, who was taping an interview with the former Republican vice presidential nominee.

While you ponder the above, consider these items found while perusing this morning’s ajc.com:

Agreement to give back pay to 15,000 retired teachers ends lawsuit.

Feds end 11-year oversight of Ga. juvenile facilities.

GSU cuts 300 positions, most of them on paper.

Clayton County hires a new school chief.

Atlanta’s budget looks good — when compared to other big cities.

The sagging economy hits UGA foundations.

Some opinion:

Jim Wooten declares that trust is the key for conservatives.

And Bill Bozarth says, in a memo to candidates, that ethics should be a top priority.

From elsewhere:

Atlanta Unflitered: TitleMax gave $192,000 to politicians, but failed to tell anyone in a timely fashion.

ABC: Usher joins the board of the Woodruff Arts Center.

And beyond:

WSJ: The Obama administration will accept an appeals-court ruling that could undermine the military’s ban on service members found to be gay.

WP: A Bush program to check the immigration of every person booked into local jails could be increased tenfold.

BBC: Under fire, a Speaker steps down. Theirs— not ours.

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