On Tuesday morning, residents across the country will be waking up with a little something extra to do. Tuesday, Nov. 3 is election day, one of the greatest days of the year.
This year is not what I would call the sexiest of elections. There is no President on the ballot or even a governor. Congressional elections are on the sidelines and so are our state races. Still, for those of us who live in municipalities throughout the county, Tuesday’s election may have a very significant impact on how we live.
Before you think I am off my rocker, let me point out what the responsibilities are of those who are up for election Tuesday.
The city councils are responsible for the following: providing essential services such as sewer and water; providing protection such as fire and police; providing road and transportation upgrades in our local communities; deciding what kind of growth the community will have; the maintenence of parks and recreation services, and in the case of Peachtree City, golf cart path upkeep.
Local municipal elections are usually staged without all of the name calling and mudslinging that we have come to expect in higher level politics (except when that mud comes from outside sources or irresponsible journalists). Municipal races are typically the purest types of elections, where you go out and cast a vote for the person who you think will do the best job, regardless of political affiliation. We know our candidates and our current council members -- they are the ones we call when a water line breaks or our sewer fails.
If you don’t know who you are voting for next week or haven’t had a chance to get to know the issues or people yet, I would encourage you to go out and get our Saturday paper. It will include our special election tab, which will contian a little background about each candidate and where they stand on several key issues.
Speaking of issues, the one that affects all of Fayette County is the re-upping of the Special-purpose-local-option-sales-tax, which is up for a countywide vote Tuesday. This has been a hot button topic for many across the county.
SPLOST is a special sales tax that counties across the state can add for capital improvement projects such as roads, buildings and cart paths (as in PTC). This type of tax allows counties to get the funds for improvement projects without directly impacting property taxes. It’s a way for our local politicians to get big new projects rolling without you worrying about paying extra money in your annual property tax bill.
While I am a proponent of the SPLOST concept in general, this year’s list of projects is anything but impressive.
The SPLOST we’ll be voting on Tuesday has county and local officials using the extra revenue to pay down debt on a major past and existing capital improvement project -- the Justice Center. By using the biggest chunk of SPLOST money to pay down the debt on an expensive past project, local officials believe they can maintain current levels of service with the General Fund without raising local property taxes or having to cut more jobs.
By design, SPLOST should have an impact on the quality of life in a county. This year’s effort is really being used as a band-aid for the shrinking revenues in our municipal and county coffers. If the projects on the list actually made some sense or were things that citizens across the county could actually use, it would be an easy choice. Paying down of debt does make sense, but as I see it now, it is tough to support this SPLOST with this current lackluster list of projects.
What will likely sway me in the voting booth Tuesday is this simple choice: would I prefer to pay the extra taxes on my property tax bill or at the grocery store? After all, we are ultimately going to have to pay for the Justice Center debt and these proposed transportation projects one way or another.
And that is the bottom line.
Guthrie is the publisher of the Fayette County News and Today in Peachtree City. He can be reached at matt@fayettedailynews.com |
