Dear Editor,
Given the current lack of transparency and the controversy surrounding the county SPLOST 10 referendum, I believe the following is significant.
The county SPLOST ballot question is really a two-part question, in that if you vote to approve the renewal of the one-cent sales tax, which is being advertised to fund several broadly defined but mostly needed projects, you are also authorizing the county to issue up to $32 million in General Obligation (GO) Bonds (i.e. borrow $32M, just sounds less obtrusive when you use the term “bonds”). It seems that most citizens are in favor of the projects but have severe reservations about the $32M GO Bond (debt) element.
To combat those reservations, a rumor on the street is some of the commissioners are telling folks that they plan to issue only $10M in GO Bonds. I will admit that going into debt of $10M is a heap better than $32M, but how do we trust that will happen after SPLOST approval?
Do we know if a majority of commissioners even hold this position?
Plus, this election could result in different commissioners being in office when this SPLOST takes effect in October 2025. Unless this commitment to issue only up to $10M in GO Bonds is documented in stone, so to speak, it won’t hold water as we advance.
Suppose the county makes a valid commitment on the part of the county. In that case, the county commissioners need to draft a resolution to that effect, put it on the commission meeting agenda as a public hearing, and have it approved by a majority of commissioners. It's as simple as that.
However, time is of the essence in that early voting begins in a week.
Billy Webster, Putnam County