About Tybee Neighbors
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What’s a Tybee Neighbor? The dictionary defines a neighbor, quite simply, as one person who lives close to another. The Tybee Neighbors has taken this definition a little further, defining our organization as Neighbors, island-wide working together to promote and preserve a high quality of life on Tybee Island. We came together over 24 months ago because of our shared concern about the problems resulting from the over-development of Tybee Island. Recently we have become increasingly aware that development and speculation have significantly contributed to our property taxes accelerating to the point that continuing to live and own property on the Island has become a challenge for many of our long time residents. What are our Primary Goals? Our goals have not changed since our first sessions: to do everything we can to value and protect the quality of life of Tybee residents; to communicate with and educate ourselves and our visitors about key issues that we face, and to support smart development including appropriate infrastructure on the Island. To this end, we have pledged to seek and to share information and enlightenment on issues that impact the Tybee quality of life for those committed to living on Tybee Island through: - Special meetings - Website resources & Mini-surveys - “Tybee Facts”. This new part of our website provides carefully documented factual data on specific issues confronting Island residents and businesses. Tybee has an active rumor mill and this can be detrimental when rumors based on half-truths and innuendos shape our history. - Tybee Neighbors Scrapbook Through these resources, Tybee Neighbors provides educational and informational tools in order to encourage island residents to: •Individually assist and support elected and appointed officials in a positive and proactive fashion •Express their personal views through testimony at public hearings and aid in the work of city volunteer committees •Support the codes, laws and ordinances that are in place to preserve Tybee for the future •Support the property rights of those committed to living on the island The Tybee Neighbors came together to support our elected government officials, to preserve the quality of life on the island, and to do what we can to make sure that the wishes of our citizens, as expressed in our Master Plan and ordinances, are followed by our government. Often it seems that “property rights” are defined as the right to sell property at the same amount our neighbor sold his for, or as the right to build in accordance with the developer’s best economic advantage. This approach can ignore the long lasting impact that such development may have on the future of the island. We think that property rights should also consider the perspective of those property owners who want to make Tybee Island their home - now and in the future. We support the property rights of those who don’t want to see their Tybee property and taxes inflated in value by continuous over-development until we can no longer afford to live or own property here. Developers and speculators may never profit from these people. But these property owners have rights too. And it’s those rights, those “property rights” that we want to see protected to the fullest extent of the law. We believe, therefore, that it is now more important than ever to protect our “property rights” by supporting our elected officials when they have the courage to enforce Tybee’s land use codes and laws. Property Tax Efforts We are seeking Tybee residents who are concerned about property taxes and are willing to use their time and talents on one of the following initiatives. Group 1: Research and Tax Relief Options This group is working on: • Seeking changes to the method used for evaluating property values; • Pursuing local & state legislation (i.e. Senior citizen exemption from school tax; county tax dollars); Group 2: Advocacy Information has been gathered on the basics of the appeal process and has been published on the website to help individual taxpayers. Group 3: Political Action This group is designed to lead support efforts for the relief measures deemed to be most attainable. Tybee Neighbors does not support or criticize political platforms or candidates but uncovers facts to enable those living on the island to make informed decisions. It also encourages residents to express their concerns as individuals during public hearings and to be supportive of City government, officials and laws. Everyone is welcome at our meetings. There are no costs and you won’t be asked to support any political agenda, only to listen to the facts. |
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