Letter to the Editor: Cumming Resident Comments on SPLOST VII

To the Editor:

Like most people I am exasperated with sending money to the federal government to be spent on projects for which it has no constitutional authority, by people that who have no electoral accountability to the people of Forsyth County. However, despite my frustrations with the federal government, there are constitutional functions of local government that have to be paid for, and on November 8, we have the opportunity to choose the fairest way to generate revenue – namely, a consumption tax. For this reason, I am supporting SPLOST VII.

Unlike income taxes to the federal government, which go into a black box to be used for whatever Congress wishes, Georgia’s SPLOST law requires that local governments develop a list of capital improvement projects. This list constitutes the universe of projects the taxes collected may be used for – SPLOST funds may not be used for staff salaries, public official’s healthcare plans, or county operating revenues. If SPLOST VII passes, taxpayers will know exactly what their money is being used for.

The project list includes much-needed infrastructure improvements that are unquestionably constitutional obligations of the county – a new courthouse, a jail expansion, and road improvements. All of these improvements are long overdue (the current courthouse and jail were constructed when the county population was approximately 30,000 - we now have over 175,000 residents and our roads are 20 years out-of-date). 

Some have criticized that the SPLOST should be for less money; however, that is not how the law is written. We cannot collect a ½ penny or ¼ penny. A one penny tax is the only amount authorized; thus, SPLOST collections will be whatever amount a one penny tax will generate.

Given that the project list is set, and there is no variation in what the tax will collect (other than in sales), if SPLOST VII is approved, it is incumbent upon our elected officials to make sure we get the most bang for our buck. The election on November 8 merely identifies the revenue source, but the public still has an important role to play. Each project on the SPLOST list must be put to bid and accepted by the county commission. Forsyth County citizens need to stay involved to make sure the county commissioners get the best deals from contractors that will do the best jobs. In this regard, we need to keep in mind that public facilities improvements should last 50-75 years, so we don’t need to go so cheap that we have to come back and have this same discussion in 20 years.

Americans have rightly criticized governmental policies that ignore our obligations to current citizens and create a financial burden on future generations. SPLOST VII will allow us to meet the needs of Forsyth County residents without kicking the can down the road for someone else to deal with. To disapprove a tax that is fairly shared by all people that use our county’s infrastructure, and miss the opportunity to make constitutionally-required improvements at the lowest construction costs in a generation, would literally be pennywise and pound-foolish. I hope voters will support SPLOST VII.

Ethan Underwood,
Cumming, Georgia

Editor's Note: Cumming Patch is not endorsing any organization, person or entity that is for or against SPLOST VII.