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The Braselton News
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The Braselton News
A publication of Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc.
Mike Buffington Editor & Co-Publisher
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher
General Phone: 706-367-5233
Opinion
“Difference of opinion leads
to enquiry, and enquiry to
truth. ” -Thomas Jefferson
Braseltoons byJohnShepptird
bMPPy BIRTHDAY AAA BEL
Eighty-seven is the new seventy-eight.
letters
Says developers used ‘bait and switch’
our views
Tax cut smoke
and mirrors
IT MUST BE an election year. Georgia legislators
are tripping all over themselves to see who can pass
tax cutting legislation.
Some might call that “conservative political values.”
But a better term might be “pandering to voters.”
The current legislative tax cut war began last year
when House Speaker Glenn Richardson, a likely
candidate for governor in 2010, went on the speak
ing circuit to promote his plan for the state taking
over all local taxes by abolishing property taxes and
replacing them with a sales tax hike which he and
he colleagues would control and dole out to county
and city governments.
The problem with that plan was two-fold: First, it
gave tremendous power to the state while it weak
ened local governments, drawing the opposition
of every city, county and school official in Georgia.
Second, on his speaking tour, Richardson insulted
anyone who questioned his plan, showing himself
to be arrogant and abrasive. He didn’t ask for input,
he dictated.
That plan died and Richardson replaced it with a
couple of other watered-down efforts. In the end, he
pushed through the House a plan to abolish taxes
on cars, a move that wouldn’t hit the state govern
ment very much but that would hit all local govern
ments, forcing them to raise taxes on homes and
real estate to make up the difference.
But Richardson’s plan was received coolly by Gov.
Sonny Perdue, whose veto pen could kill it.
Meanwhile, over in the state Senate, Lt. Gov.
Casey Cagle, another potential candidate for gov
ernor in 2010, stood on the sidelines until this week.
On Tuesday, he announced his tax plan, which is
to cut the state income tax by 10 percent over the
next five years. That plan would not affect local gov
ernments, as the plans Richardson has promoted
would do.
Cagle’s move was clever political poker that left
his rival, Richardson, sputtering. Richardson wants
to lead a tax cut as a basis for a run at governor,
but he wants to make that cut not from the state,
but rather from local governments. It’s always easier
to cut the other guy’s taxes while leaving your own
untouched.
Cagle called his hand, in effect saying, “OK, let cut
taxes, but let’s cut state taxes and not local taxes.”
For average citizens, Cagle’s proposal would have
the biggest impact. But both plans are likely in dan
ger of a Perdue veto due to the slow economy and
the impact any kind of tax cut would have on gov
ernment revenues.
For the most part, all the talk of cutting taxes is
a game of smoke and mirrors from those seeking
leverage to make a bid for governor in 2010.
The Braselton News
Angela Gary Managing Editor
Kerri Testement News Editor
Kristi Reed Reporter
Jeremy Ginn Advertising
Susan Tredwell Advertising
Web Site: braseltonnews.com
Classified Advertising
classifieds@mainstreetnews.com
Dear Editor:
Just want to say hip, hip, hurray and a big
“attaboy” to all the commissioners, developers,
real estate agents, and recommendation/planning
board for the beautiful Roman candle street/park
ing lot lights at the new Publix shopping center on
Hwy. 124 and 332. My family now enjoys our entire
house being lit up 24 hours a day. They’re more like
spotlights and you can’t look out the window with
out being blinded. Our quality of life has now been
reduced to the level it was in Gwinnett County
many years ago.
It’s not like we haven’t attended commission
meetings. It’s just a gesture that they let us speak
at all. The property behind our home was rezoned
to NRC from R1 without any consideration that it
bordered homes on all sides. The so-called rezon
ing sign conveniently fell forward and no one saw it
until right before the meeting. Our family, along with
several other families, attended the meeting, but it
was already a done deal.
Real estate agent Joyce Hay/MetroBrokers rep
resenting the developer and veterinarian purchas
ing the five acres ask us not to oppose the rezon
ing and they would guarantee privacy, very little
lighting and not to develop the back four acres and
leave natural as it’s densely populated with beauti
ful trees. The developer offered to split the cost of
a privacy fence along the back of our property
What a joke. It was a “gentleman’s handshake” and
apparently we weren’t dealing with gentlemen. Not
only did they mislead, they have put the property
back up for sale. The old bait and switch tactic.
Now we’re all left to wonder what the heck is going
to end up behind us. Oh I know, maybe more won
derful lighting to further our quest for more com
mercial development.
There’s a place for that type of development
and we all understand the county needs the rev
enue, but is it to the detriment of its citizens? With
a falling market, foreclosures at a all time high,
decrease in home value and the recession, even
if I wanted to move (and we don’t) we wouldn’t be
able to sell our house.
I am begging the planning commission to please
halt development on top of our biggest investment,
our homes. Or, developers can continue to pur
chase land on top of residential neighborhoods,
ruin Jackson County, and line the pockets of the
very elected/appointed officials that represent us.
Let’s not forget what brings these same develop
ers to our county. It’s the demographics. If you
keep this up, the demographics won’t be here to
support “smart” development and we’ll end up
with the thousands of acres of empty concrete
buildings like other counties.
Wake up citizens of Jackson County. Speak out
and make sure you’re heard.
Sincerely,
Tina Heaslip, Hoschton
Gwinnett police
over-staffed?
Dear Editor:
With the price of gas so high, the police should
be a bit more conscious on how to spend our tax
money
I couldn’t believe when I saw about two to three
police cars within a one mile range at Sardis
Church Road (from the corner of Thompson Mill
Rd. to the corner of Friendship Rd.) driving back
and forth going after just about anybody they
could reach. Seemed to me that they needed to
reach their ticket quota for the whole month.
I drove on that road four times that day They
finally got me on my last trip. Before I could finish
that one mile distance, I was pulled over. The offi
cer had the nerve to tell me that I was driving over
40 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone.
This should be considered entrapment. Police
shouldn’t just be able to do whatever they want. I
feel violated.
Sincerely,
Beth Fike, Hoschton
The fight over Sunday sale of beer and wine
JUST WHEN it looked like Gov. Sonny Perdue and House Speaker Glenn Rich
ardson might have run out of things to fight about in the waning days of the legisla
tive session, along came the issue of Sunday package sales of beer and wine.
Sunday sales are once again in play because a House committee has added
the provision to a bill that would legalize beer sales on Sun
day at the new stadium in Gwinnett County where the Atlanta
Braves will place one of their minor league teams.
Pro-alcohol lawmakers figured that if it’s okay to sell suds on
Sunday at a baseball game or at a restaurant, what’s the harm
if a grocery store sells the stuff as well?
According to the governor, there’s plenty of harm. Perdue
told reporters last week that he looks unfavorably upon the
Sunday package sales bill, an indication that he will veto the
measure should it ever cross his desk.
“I think it’s the wrong thing to do and I think it’s the wrong
time to do it,” Perdue said. “I haven’t supported this in the
past, I don’t now.”
That touched off another clash with Richardson, who’s been
seething at Sonny ever since the governor vetoed a tax break
last year that the speaker favored.
“The governor does not get the final vote, the General Assembly does, and if
we vote on something and he vetoes it, especially something like this where he
has absolutely no ground to stand on, then we’ll come in here ... in January and
override the veto,” Richardson said.
“It would be one thing if you had a moral position that there should be no sales
on Sunday, but once you say you’re OK with Sunday sales at a Braves game or
Sunday sales in limousine, which is what [Perdue] said, I don’t know how you have
a moral ground,” Richardson added.
Richardson is making a mistake here when he assumes that Perdue takes
a consistent position on issues. The governor is actually one of the big
gest flip-floppers since John Kerry, and if Perdue should veto the Sun
day sales bill for the reasons he gave to reporters, it won’t be the first
time he has taken a contradictory position on a volatile political issue.
When asked why he opposed Sunday package sales, Perdue said, “I
think six days is plenty [of time] to gather up. You’ve got refrigerators.
You’ve got different stores open. I think we need a little relief on Sunday”
Perdue, who’s a non-drinking Baptist, is saying that he wants the gov
ernment to impose his personal religious preferences on all Georgians
when it comes to the issue of buying alcoholic beverages on Sundays.
But that’s very different from past statements where Perdue has opposed govern
ment interference into personal decisions and the idea of Georgia becoming a
“nanny state.”
In 2005, for example, the General Assembly passed a bill that prohib
ited smoking in many restaurants and other public places. At the bill sign
ing ceremony, Perdue criticized the legislation because he thought it rep
resented too much government intrusion into what is ultimately a
personal matter.
“We don’t want or need government to mandate for us what we eat or drink
or how much exercise we get or whether we engage in dangerous activities,
from skydiving to smoking,” Perdue said before signing the no-smoking bill.
“I’m concerned about what I refer to as a growing nanny government,” Perdue
said on that same occasion. “We really just want government to leave us alone.
We want to make our own choices even if they’re the wrong ones.”
For good measure, Perdue added, “when you start legislating these
kinds of issues for people, limiting their choices, it really begins to con
cern me because of the whole issue of government intrusion.”
Of course, that was then . . . this is now.
When the state uses its authority to prevent you from smoking in a public place,
then it’s being a nanny government and that’s wrong, according to our governor
three years ago.
But when the state tells you not to buy beer and wine in a grocery store on Sun
day, even when Sunday sales of alcohol have been legal for years at ball parks
and restaurants, then that’s just fine, according to our governor now.
So we are headed for another legislative battle over this issue - a battle that
might have been avoided if the governor could somehow be persuaded to stop
talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia Report, an Internet news
site at www.gareport.com that covers government and politics in Georgia.
England responds
to critics
of watering bill
BY REP.TERRY ENGLAND
Tuesday of last week marked
the 30th day of our 40 day legisla
tive session. This is a crucial day
because it is the day that a bill
must have passed
at least one body
in order to have a
chance of becom
ing law.
I would like to
comment on a
piece of legislation
that I have been
criticized locally for
sponsoring. HB
1281 deals with outdoor watering
restrictions that are placed by local
authorities, whether it is cities or
counties.
First let me say, I appreciate our
local water utility folks and the job
they do and in no way has this ever
been aimed at the job they have
done during this drought. They
have managed our water resources
tremendously well; unfortunately
that is not the case across the
State. We have had some very bad
actors in parts of the State during
the drought that have failed to plan
ahead. There have been those
that for no reason have enacted
complete outdoor watering bans
because they did not want to an
swer customer calls asking about
restrictions any more.
One metro area city water utility
management personnel asked their
city council to go to a complete
outdoor watering ban and when
asked what the justification was,
the reply was, “it just seems like a
good idea” they had no reason to
do so. Things like this have cost
35,000 Georgians there jobs in the
Green Industry since last August.
I have been working closely with
the Georgia Municipal Association
to make changes to the Bill as we
get it ready for its journey through
the Senate. The other parts of the
Bill that they are excited about
deals with the ability to ask to come
out from under the State imposed
reduction mandates and drought
level imposed restrictions in com
munities that may be a part of the
drought area but have plenty of
water to use. Currently and during
the last 9 months, there have been
many communities asking to come
out from under these restrictions
but under current law they can
not. This has had a major impact
on their budgets as they count on
water sales for large portions of
their operating revenues. There are
also emergency measures that I
have added to the Bill also to allevi
ate many concerns I have heard. I
would be more than happy to dis
cuss this or any Bill you may have
questions about.
You may have heard that Gover
nor Perdue has lowered the rev
enue projections for this state. For
us in the legislature, this means
that we must revise the budgets we
have been working on and make
spending cuts in some areas.
While this does mean we have
less money to fund our priorities,
I again reiterate that the House
remains committed to funding our
education needs and we are work
ing diligently to get those funds to
our schools. As a member of the
Appropriations Sub Committee on
Education, I can tell you that we
are working hard to get you your
money’s worth.
God Bless you and your family.
Representative Terry England
represents parts of Barrow county
in the House of Representatives.
During the Session he may be con
tacted at: 501 Coverdell Legislative
Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334
Office: 404-656-0183
Email: terry.england@house.
ga.gov
ENGLAND
