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On Tuesday, former LaGrange Mayor Jim Thornton presented an award to Representative Debbie Buckner on behalf of the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA).

GMA is a voluntary membership organization that advocates on behalf of cities in both the Georgia General Assembly and Washington DC. All 536 cities in Georgia are currently members of GMA, which along with legislative advocacy provides retirement plans, insurance programs and training.

GMA was founded in 1933 by cities including charter member LaGrange as a way to have representation for Georgia cities at both the state and federal levels. Thornton currently serves as GMA Director of Government Relations, advocating on behalf of LaGrange and other Georgia cities in Washington and the Capitol.

On Tuesday, Thornton returned to LaGrange to present the “Champion of Georgia Cities Award” to Representative Debbie Buckner for her legislative efforts on behalf of local cities.

Thornton said the award was given to 10 legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, House members and senators at the Georgia General Assembly who have advocated on behalf of all 536 Georgia cities throughout the year.

“Buckner is a good friend to Georgia cities. She’s always accessible to GMA and to our GMA staff. She’s always responsive when we have an issue at the state legislature that she has a role to play in,” Thornton said.

Thornton said in particular, Buckner helped advocate on LaGrange’s behalf as part of the joint tax credit panel. Buckner was the only Democrat out of the six House members who served on the panel that reviewed all the various tax credits provided across the state of Georgia.

“Buckner really took an interest in the historic preservation tax credit. Some of you may know that the Dixie Mill project on Greenville Street was the beneficiary of $5 million of state tax credit. That project probably could not have happened without that state tax credit infusion,” Thornton said.

Both the Dawson Street redevelopment project and the DASH Mill project are looking at taking advantage of those tax credits, but they were set to sunset in 2026 and are no longer available for future projects. Fortunately, Representative Buckner took the lead in advocating for the renewal of that tax credit, the continuation of that sunset, as well as a potential expansion to include additional stand-alone residential properties that have historic value. 

Ultimately, the legislation was approved after being attached to a Senate bill, where Buckner was the principal sponsor on the House side. Senate Bill 496, not only extended the historic tax credits, the rural zone tax credit, which helps Hogansville and West Point.

Buckner was allowed to select which city in her district where she would receive the award and selected LaGrange.