Business View Magazine - October 2018

166 167 COLUMBIA COUNTY, GEORGIA can keep their rents lower because they’re not having to maintain things outside of the buildings, themselves. It works out good for us, because if a building ever sells, or there are any issues with it, we can always keep our downtown looking beautiful because the government owns all of the outside pieces and will be able to provide the maintenance. And the county doesn’t have to get into the real estate business; we don’t have to build our own buildings; we don’t have to worry about leasing the space out and keeping the building full.We let the private sector do that – they’re good at doing that type of work. And we’re not risking taxpayer dollars by having a building that’s not full. So, it really works out to be a good public-private partnership.” When it comes to new projects, Johnson claims that Columbia County doesn’t need to provide any special incentives to developers. “Our incentives are what we have to offer everybody,” he asserts. “It’s not: ‘we’ll write you a big check if you want to locate in Columbia County.’We think you’ll benefit in doing busi- ness here. Columbia County prides itself on having some of the lowest taxes in the state. Our millage rate is the lowest among all of our benchmark counties. So, we could provide higher taxes and then turn around and pro- vide incentives. Or, we can provide incentives on the front side by saying, ‘We’re going to give you a really low tax rate, upfront.” “The other thing that we’re very proud of is we’ve spent significant money and made signifi- cant investments in our fire department and our emergency response,” he adds. “Columbia County boasts an ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating of “1.” (The ISO is a for- profit organization that provides statistical information on risk. The ISO rating is from 10–1, with “1” being the best.) When you think about an industry trying to locate in a community, that ISO rating of “1” can save thousands and thousands of dollars in insurance costs. So, we try to invest in the community to be able to keep taxes low and keep the cost of doing business low. And understanding that time is money, we pride ourselves on turning around plans, for example, in about seven to ten days, av- erage. And that’s on big projects and it’s unheard of in the industry. So, Columbia County is a little bit different.” Other amenities include a Sherriff’s Office that Holds the Triple Crown Accreditation, a triple-A