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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
jgnptS TO THE EDITOR
SPLOST article raises blood pressure
The Saturday article entitled “Is a SPLOST refund on the horizon?” has raised my blood
Pressure to the near boiling over point.
When SPLOST 2001 was proposed, the county commission told Houston County resi
dents of projects that were needed and if we did not approve them surely the sky would fall
upon us with unbearable consequences.
Well, even though we approved the SPLOST, the sky has not fallen upon us and we suffer
only from the taxation levied upon us and the loss of faith in anything the county commis
sion has to say.
We were led to believe that if we approved SPLOST 2001 we would not face tax increases.
Guess what? We were deceived. We were told that if SPLOST funds in excess of the SBS
million were collected we would see a tax rebate. Guess what? We were deceived.
We were told that the SPLOST 2001 projects were “NEEDED”, but as of the moment 17
of the 23 county projects have either not been started or completed. Now, what is the most
telling factor to be considered when deciding whether those projects were needed: The
statements of the county commission and their mind-numbed supporters or the evidence
that five years after SPLOST approval the “needs” have not even begun to be addressed
even though the money to complete them has been taken out of our wallets and purses?
Guess what? We were deceived again.
Mr. Steve Engle, Director of Administration, is quoted as indicating that any excess
SPLOST 2001 funds collected have to be used to pay for uncompleted 2001 SPLOST proj
ects. “Some projects (from the 2001 SPLOST) are going out to bid just now”, Engle noted.
Mr. Engle is incorrect. Page 16 of the Association of County Commissions of Georgia
SPLOST Guide states, “If one of the approved projects is completed under budget, the
law allows counties and municipalities to shift the excess proceeds from the under budget
project to one that may be experiencing cost overruns. Proceeds saved on one project and
used on another would not be considered excess proceeds”. Note that excess proceeds can
be used for a project that is experiencing a cash shortfall only from SPLOST projects that
were completed under cost estimates.
Again quoting from the ACCG SPLOST Guide, “In case of a ‘shortfall’ of SPLOST funds
to pay for projects. The approved projects could be scaled back, but not abandoned. A local
government must make up any shortfall from their general fund or other funding sources.”
In other words, the government could issue bonds or raise taxes to make up the differ
ence.
In the case of bonds, the taxpayer will pay for those also.
Regarding excess proceeds, “the law requires that they be used solely to reduce or pay off
existing debt of the county. If there is no county debt, any excess proceeds must be paid into
the general fund of the county to reduce property taxes. Note that the SPLOST law does not
require that the excess proceeds deposited in the general fund be shown as a property tax
credit or offset. Instead, a county may expend those proceeds for some other public purpose
that would otherwise have to be paid for with property taxes, thereby having the effect of
reducing property taxes as the law requires (O.C.G.A. 48-8-121(g)).” In other words, forget
any tax rebate regardless of what the county commission may have led you to believe.
The most galling aspect of the matter is the absolute misuse of public funds and abuse of
public faith. When a SPLOST is approved, the community expects to see some movement
to provide for those vital needs their government leaders told them were so important. The
fact that the county has waited five years to either begin or complete 17 projects means
that it is likely they will not be completed until some eight to nine years or more after voter
approval. ,
Further, the delay means that the cost of labor and materials will have risen so much that
those projects will most certainly experience budgetary shortfalls. Taxpayers will certainly
make up the difference.
I have used the word “deceived” earlier in this letter. Some will surely think that my
use of the word is too harsh. It is merely my opinion. However, I offer one further piece of
evidence to support my reasoning.
During the campaign to solicit approval Of the county’s 2006 SPLOST, one project offered
as being critical to the future was the widening of highway 96 (For which voters approved
the expenditure of some $9 million to encourage the state to hasten the beginning date of
the project, although the federal government had already provided $5 million for the proj
ect). The voters dutifully went to the polls and voted their approval.
Unfortunately, voters were not told that part of that project would involve creation of a
bypass around the Bonaire business district at the intersection of highways 96 and 247.
Needless to say, those businesses are threatened with closure as traffic will be diverted
around their locations. Two questions arise from this: Who stands to profit from this deci
sion and why weren’t the voters told of the proposed bypass, since it had to be known by
the county commission well before the SPLOST referendum? The answers are obvious.
The disclosure might have cost 2006 SPLOST supporters many votes. Now I ask you, were
voters deceived or not?
When proposing SPLOST projects and touting their many positive attributes, it is only
ethical to list the negative consequences of the projects as well. Knowing that adverse
conditions will arise from a proposal and failing to disclose them are, in my opinion, acts
of deception and unworthy of elected officials who are supposed to protect the interests of
their constituents.
The whole sorry mess can be described only as a tale of gross mismanagement, material
incompetence, and abuse of public trust by elected officials.
I have reached the conclusion that we must see a change in the direction this commission
is taking us. They are simply out of touch with reality.
David E. Wittenberg, Kathleen
Kyoto piece uninformed, misleading
Of the many uninspiring and myopic editorial pieces I have read in your
paper, the piece published Aug. 29 titled, “Kyoto Treaty a Trap,” is so far, the
most uninformed and misleading partisan drivel to make it into print.
You decry the possibility of the United States becoming a second rate nation. Too late, folks,
the Bush administration has already seen to that by sending good paying, high tech jobs
offshore in exchange for inferior goods at cheap prices. The consequences of the dog in the
manger attitude of the present administration to atmospheric pollution transcends geo
graphic boundaries. The air that we all breathe and the water we drink are being polluted
at an alarming rate, regardless of where we live.
I would recommend you see AL Gore’s fine production An Inconvenient Truth before you
present any more oil company propaganda as editorial truth!
Jim Pearsall, Centerville
Masonic district annual fish fry a success
Submitted
The 12th Masonic District
held its annual Dublin VA
Hospital Fish Fry Saturday.
During that occasion,
smiles beamed on both sides
of the serving tables as they
have each Labor Day for
more than 20 years, as more
than 200 veterans and the
entire hospital staff were
served.
Special thanks go out
to the cooking team from
Tyrian No. 11l of Warner
Robins, who didn’t bat an
eye, but just set up the pro
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fessional cookers and got to
work. Brother M. M. Cloud,
a mason from Houston
Lodge No. 35 of Perry, super
vised the cooking.
This year there were also
some special Masonic guests
to drop in from other areas
in the state. Brother Ted
Collins, the senior grand
warden of the Grand Lodge
of Georgia stopped by as
did Brother Mac Collins, a
congressional candidate for
the U.S. House and a mem
ber of Indian Springs Lodge
No. 307 in the 6th District.
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Collins personally delivered
many plates to the veterans
on the wards.
Again, thanks to all the
Masons and lodges who took
time out on their Saturday
to make this possible, and a
very special thanks to those
veterans who allowed them
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They paid the price of free
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Florida election test of
religious right's strength
Next Tuesday, Florida
will likely follow the
same pattern we have
seen developing around the
nation this midterm prima
ry season. An uninspired
and dispirited electorate
will, in huge numbers, fail
to vote.
That will mean quirky
results in some important
races, and a major test for
the continued viability of
the so-called Christian Right
as a force in Republican
politics.
While most polls have
shown Florida Attorney
General Charlie Crist
leading his race against
Florida’s Chief Financial
Officer Tom Gallagher
by at least 20 points, our
Insider Advantage survey,
conducted for the Florida
Chamber of Commerce,
suggested that Crist was
leading, but not by a huge
margin.
Unlike the other surveys,
ours showed a substantial
percentage of undecided
voters. This is consistent
with the results of polls we
have conducted in other
southern states, where
these undecideds actually
turned out to be non-voters.
When this happens, races
get tricky because only the
most hard-core voters go to
the polls.
Crist is a handsome and
articulate candidate who
would have broad appeal
to voters in the November
• general election. But, for
whatever reason, he felt
compelled several weeks
ago to declare that he
favored allowing civil
unions of same-sex partners
in Florida. Within a matter
of days, famed Republican
strategist/ad expert Mike
Murphy had mysteriously
signed on with Gallagher’s
then-failing campaign.
Anyone who has been
around GOP politics on a
national level over the past
few decades and knows the
power that Florida Gov.
Jeb Bush has in his home
state could easily add two
plus two and figure out that
Murphy would never take
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on a long-shot campaign if
he felt by doing so he would
be offending Bush, who is
officially neutral in the race.
More importantly, why take
on a losing cause?
The answer: It might not
be such a losing proposi
tion.
Gallagher, who has had a
long and often controver
sial career in state politics,
decided long ago to hitch his
star to the conservative and
religious-right segments of
his party. In two televised
debates, he attacked Crist
for his positions on abor
tion, the cost of alleviat
ing classroom overcrowd
ing, civil
unions
and a
host of
other
conser
vative
red-meat
issues.
H i s
cam
paign
TV ads
Matt Towery
Columnist
Morris News Service basically
say that
Crist is not a “Jeb Bush
conservative.” It’s a very
polarizing effort, which,
in a normal year for voter
turnout, would likely back
fire and send moderate
Republicans flocking to the
polls to defeat a candidate
with such a “far-right” mes
sage.
But this isn’t a normal
primary season. All around
the country, we’ve seen the
electorate ignore primary
elections. And an extremely
low turnout gives organiza
tions and voting blocs such
as the religious right the
opportunity to prove wheth
er they truly have the orga
nizational skills in place to
ignite voter passion.
Understand, this election
could go in one of two direc
tions.
Consider the case in
Georgia, the ninth most
populous state in America.
In the recent Republican
primary election there, for
mer Christian Coalition
leader Ralph Reed went
1357-D Sam Nunn Btvd.
Perry, GA 31069
478-987-0172
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down in flames in his bid
to become lieutenant gov
ernor.
Reed lost in a low-turnout
primary. Did the Christian
and reugious-right vote dis
appear in that race? Maybe.
But the argument can also
be made that Reed was car
rying all the baggage of a
close association with con
troversial and soon-to-be
sentenced lobbyist Jack
Abramoff.
What happens in Florida
if the most motivated voter
is the hard-core religious
conservative vote, which
has shown at least anec
dotal evidence of being the
core of the GOP electorate?
This year’s Florida primary
will occur not only after a
brief encounter with a pow
erful storm, but on the day
following Labor Day.
My guess is that voter
turnout may not even reach
the 20-percent mark. If that
happens, you can throw
out all the polls and rest
assured that the battle to
carry the GOP mantle to
replace Bush will be a jump
ball. And that ball will fall
on the side of either main
stream Republicans turn
ing out to elect the more
moderate Crist, or the hard
core religious right proving
its might by putting can
didates more to their lik
ing on the general election
ballot.
Once again, Florida
becomes the test case for
the future of one of the
major political movements
of our time.
Matt Towery served as the
chairman of former Speaker
Newt Gingrich’s political
organization from 1992
until Gingrich left Congress.
He is a former Georgia state
representative, the author
of several books and cur
rently heads the polling and
political information firm
Insider Advantage.
To find out more about
Matthew Towery and read
features by other Creators
Syndicate writers and car
toonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate Web page at www.
creators.com.
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