The CCG Board of Tax Assessors tried to charge property taxes to the CCG Hospital Authority for owning Spring Harbor. However, the government-owned retirement community is public property whose revenue is used to repay the bonds that built it. Explore the full story to see how the Tax Board lost three times on final appeal in a landmark case of governmental double-dipping.

From January 1 through June 30, the Fountain City endured a total of 27 homicides. With an annual national average of just 6 homicides per hundred-thousand residents, Columbus’ population of 205k people suffered a homicide rate 4.5 times deadlier than the rest of the country. Explore the full story to see the data visualized, along with a list of each homicide our city endured in the first half of 2023.

During the city council meeting held on June 27, city council quietly passed a resolution requiring the Development Authority and the Board of Tax Assessors to disclose certain information. Quite obviously, the info wasn’t being shared in the past. Explore the full story for the details and see the resolution’s full text for yourself.

When the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, they couldn’t exactly post about it on social media. In fact, it took five weeks for King George III to even receive the document across the Atlantic. Explore the full story to see how small, local, citizen-ran newspapers brought news of independence to the populace, along with a transcription of the full Declaration of Independence itself.

If you haven’t heard, City Council just saved taxpayers $7 million in the city’s new budget by lowering the property tax millage rate. However, the order of events in the process for planning that budget almost made those millions in savings impossible. Explore the full story to see if you can spot the huge design flaw in CCG’s budget planning process.

A few weeks ago, we reported CCG’s egregious waste of countless time and resources so that a small group of 24 people can drive their registered golf carts across Veterans Parkway. Now, city council has voted to allow exactly that. Explore the full story to see the laughable backstory behind council’s vote for the gain of a privileged few in the Historic District as the rest of the city crumbles around the microscopic downtown area.

We emailed CCG and asked point-blank if Mayor Henderson had the power to unilaterally appoint a police chief without City Council’s approval. The response we received confirms CCG knows the Mayor overstepped his legal authority, but has taken no action to correct it nor to hold the Mayor accountable. Explore the full story to see the entire email thread for yourself in CCG’s own words, proving our city currently does not have a legally-appointed police chief.

Property tax exemptions are a well-needed staple of our local economy that provide relief to the elderly, surviving spouses, disabled veterans, and many others. However, CCG’s Chief Appraiser, Suzanne Widenhouse, let her true feelings slip during a heated moment when placed on the spot at the June 27 council meeting. Explore the full story to watch your Chief Assessor say just about the one thing a tax assessor shouldn’t say on camera.

For the past few weeks, Columbus property owners have explained to city officials how increasing property taxes would lead to increased poverty, crime, and blight. Now, in a rare and welcomed mutual understanding, city councilors unanimously voted to lower the property tax rate. Explore the full story to see how tactful civic engagement just moved our government to voluntarily keep $7 million in the hands of taxpayers.

Georgia regulations require taxable property to be assessed using current market conditions for the year it is being taxed. However, CCG’s Chief Appraiser, Suzanne Widenhouse, openly admitted to using three year old market data for the current tax year. Explore the full story to see how your property tax assessments have been rigged using data from the peak of the pandemic so that the city manager can use the inflated value to put more of your money into his budget.

A few weeks ago, we revealed that the local United Way is forcing Columbus nonprofits to ask local kids about their sexuality or lose their funding. Now, leaked documents including funding contracts obtained by the Muckraker undeniably prove it. Explore the full story to see the documents for yourself, along with how the United Way knowingly lied to City Councilors’ faces in an effort to cover it up.

During the city council meeting on June 20, councilors spent nearly two hours debating the proposed property tax increase and how it affects the city’s budgetary spending. However, in literally the same meeting, CCG announced the purchase of a brand new 2024 GMC truck that cost taxpayers over $56k. Explore the full story to see how your city government is running a $14 million deficit while spending your money on brand new toys instead of more sensible purchases.

In possibly the most epic reveal of Columbus’ deep state bureaucracy in history, City Attorney Clifton Fay openly said he wants to hide the city council’s meeting agenda from the public so we ‘won’t know what‘s on it.’ To make matters worse, Fay’s own stated intent was to prevent the public from contacting elected officials with their concerns. Explore the full story to see how Clifton Fay doesn’t want peasant plebes like you and us to question our city’s government, despite state laws specifically preventing Fay’s censored intent.

The city’s proposed property tax rate was set to bring in an additional $10 million from the pockets of residents while the city preps to adopt an unbalanced budget with a $14 million deficit. In a rare display of diligence and responsibility, city councilors came together to delay their votes on the millage rate and the city’s unbalanced budget. Explore the full story to see how councilors moved in unison to push the vote forward instead of merely blowing with the wind.

The United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley is forcing local organizations to either give them data on the sexuality of children they serve or lose their funding. The data collection was not part of their original funding agreements. Many large local non-profits have since voiced serious legal and moral concerns. Explore the full story for the insane details of how the United Way now demands the sexual data on local children or they will pull their funding.

It’s no secret that the Columbus Consolidated Government has severe staffing shortages. However, City Manager Isaiah Hugley’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year shows more than a $16 million increase in personnel expenses compared to the year before. Explore the full story to see the side-by-side comparison of how Hugley’s unbalanced budget managed to bloat the city’s payroll expenses to 57% of the city’s entire overall budget.

City officials only expect an income of $322 million for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1. However, their budget for FY2024 has continued to expand well beyond that projected income and now sits at a bloated $336 million. Explore the full story to see how city officials are now planning to draw over $14 million from the city’s reserve funds to make up the difference, all while raising an additional $10 million off the backs of taxpayers.

When councilors take office, they swear an oath to uphold our City Charter, granting them more power and responsibility than any other local elected official. However, it seems councilors may need a gentle reminder of what that oath empowers them with and requires of them. Explore the full story to see the full oath sworn by our city councilors, along with what its wording actually means.

Many local landlords are speaking up against the proposed property tax increases in Muscogee County in hopes of protecting their tenants from rent increases. Despite CCG’s claims of wanting to reduce poverty, residents correctly explained how raising property taxes not only perpetuates poverty, but is already causing developers to leave the city altogether. Explore the full story to see what several owners and tenants had to say to CCG in their own words.

The United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley is forcing local organizations to either give them data on the sexuality of children they serve or lose their funding. The data collection was not part of their original funding agreements. Many large local non-profits have since voiced serious legal and moral concerns. Explore the full story for the insane details of how the United Way now demands the sexual data on local children or they will pull their funding.

It doesn’t take an MBA to know that trying to build an economy on ‘tourism’ without a product differentiator in a city with rampant poverty and homicide is a terrible idea. As a result, the public mocks CCG’s disingenuous and tone-deaf messaging that puts a crap product in fake shiny packaging. Explore the full story to see a hilarious video that perfectly depicts CCG’s incompetent stupidity.

After Columbus property owners were mailed their annual property tax assessment notices on May 30, many were shocked by the huge increase in the taxes they might now have to pay. However, even Chief Assessor Suzanne Widenhouse says the county knows they make mistakes when assessing property values. Explore the full story to see how you can potentially save thousands on your tax bill.

As we discussed yesterday, CCG now has the option to lower the property tax rate, but instead is hoping to keep it just as high as ever to generate millions more in revenue from its citizens. In this detailed follow-up, we’ll be taking a deep dive into what the tax increase actually is. Explore the full story to see the details as we break down the illogical and unnecessary tax increase on everything from how property taxes are calculated to how to appeal the city’s greed.

City officials are required by law to calculate a rollback property tax rate that would produce the same revenue as the year before, but can also propose to tax residents at an even higher rate. Even though CCG now has the option to lower the property tax rate, it’s hoping to keep it just as high as ever to generate millions more in revenue from its citizens. Explore the full story for details on the three public hearings you can attend so your voice can be heard as a citizen.

For over a decade, Columbus has insisted that ‘community policing’ and other soft-on-crime policies are going to eradicate crime from our city. None of them have worked, and for obvious reasons. Despite the increasing rates of violent crime, the city is now doubling-down with even more of the same. Explore the full story for a comedic glimpse at the utterly ridiculous nature of CCG’s insanity.

Have you ever wanted to contact a local elected official about a topic that matters to you, but you didn’t know which of the ten city councilors to call? As it turns out, many people don’t know what district they live in. Explore the full story for a complete break-down of each city district using the city’s current maps, along with a list of contact information for your city councilors.

The now-canceled parking fee for the upcoming GOP Convention featuring President Donald J. Trump wasn’t even listed on the city’s agenda for the May 30 council meeting. Instead, city manager Isaiah Hugley chose to blindside council with no advance notice, hoping they would vote for the parking fee under the guise of ‘public safety.’ Explore the full story to see how Hugley tried to alter our local laws for his own political purposes without having a public hearing.

Back in 2015, CCG allowed residents to register golf carts and drive them on certain streets. Eight years later, only 24 people have done so; almost all are from the Historic District. Now, the city is wasting countless time and resources so 24 people can drive their golf carts across Veterans Parkway. Explore the full story to see the laughable arguments officials made for the gain of a privileged few as the rest of the city crumbles around them in a murderous bloodbath.

On May 30, City Council voted to enforce a $10 parking fee for the upcoming GOP Convention featuring President Donald J. Trump. However, after the publication of our original article, City Council has changed their minds. The city has since canceled the parking fee after ‘reconsidering.’ Explore the full story to see how one city councilor described the situation in an email.

At the behest of city manager Isaiah Hugley, CCG recently announced they will be charging a $10 parking fee in all city lots for the upcoming GOP Convention featuring President Donald J. Trump. However, the city did not charge parking fees for the democrat convention held here last year. Explore the full story to see yet another example of how CCG openly discriminates against conservative politics.