TRW, October 07
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TRW, August 07
“Elbert County does not have a sales tax, but our commissioners will ask for one in November. Their reasoning is that the Elbert County Road and Bridge Department needs the money to, you guessed it, repair and maintain Elbert’s woeful system of roads. Unfortunately, the board of county commissioners is the very group that has been shifting money out of the road and bridge department for other projects that caused gross deficiencies in the first place. In what can only be described as a move that demonstrates shortsightedness, Elbert’s commissioners say that if the tax increase passes, all of the money will be earmarked for road and bridge. Before you start calling us hypocrites, understand that if this money is put toward that department, there is no way to get it back into the general fund without breaking the law. Lord knows the road and bridge department is a deserving group, but it is irresponsible to put all of the money from a tax increase into a place where the money can’t be used when emergencies occur. We do have emergencies from time to time.”
However you parse it, the lure of public money overcame their disdain for the BOCC.
B.I., I Think you have misstated one thing, we do not feel disdain for our BOCC. We do have disdain for secrecy and the general lack of transparency with which they operate. As it states in the passage you cited, we would not need a tax increase at all if a proportionate and appropriate amount were allotted for roads and bridges. Our belief that people’s safety is being jeopardized is the trump card. Thanks for staying up with community issues. If all citizens were as attentive as you are being, we would have a better Elbert.
The countdown of seconds, minutes, hours and days left in the current BOCC ongoing at http://www.abe21.net must have confused me about the TRW’s opinion of this BOCC.
And what of the pro-1B voices who remain strangely silent on the systemic growth trend in county revenues and spending that would continue without a tax increase? Those background increases would amply cover road and bridge improvements expected to be the object of 1B funds, which flyers indicate will be reconstructing marginal 1-lane bridges out in the Bijou. Yep, fixing those 1-laners with traffic loads of a couple cars a week will go a long way toward making us all a lot safer.