Election day is less than five weeks away and SPLOST VI supporters are making their final push to get the word out about Habersham County’s proposed one-percent special local options sales tax.
A small crowd gathered at the Clegg Center on the North Georgia Technical College campus in Clarkesville Thursday night for a public forum on SPLOST VI. It was the sixth of nine public meetings scheduled to educate the public about the proposed penny-on-the-dollar tax referendum that will be on the ballot November 4. Habersham County Chamber of Commerce President, Judy Taylor, says she was very disappointed by the turnout. “We have now done five town hall meetings and this is our first public forum. We have two town hall meetings to go and one more public forum to go. We’re hoping the turnout will get better but this is just very disappointing.”
Despite the low turnout advocates of SPLOST VI garnered at least one new vote. Keith Boger of Clarkesville says he was planning to vote against SPLOST VI before attending Thursday night’s forum. He is concerned about how SPLOST funds have been used in the past and the lack of government accountability. However, Boger says he was swayed when he learned that an oversight committee comprised of representatives from each municipality, the county and private business is being appointed to keep an eye on how SPLOST VI funds are managed.” At least there will be a liaison group to remind the officials of what they committed to,” Boger says.”We’ve never had that before so I’m going to go ahead and vote ‘yes’ because of that.”
Boger’s voice is one of many in a resounding chorus of Habersham County voters who’ve expressed distrust over the management of previous SPLOSTs and SPLOST VI supporters know that lack of trust is a key issue. “Some of the frustrations are very valid. I understand and respect those,” Taylor says, “but all we can do is start from this day forward. We can’t change the past but we can have better oversight for the future.”
Taylor says six people will be appointed by the SPLOST VI Committee to serve on the oversight committee. Five people have been selected so far. Taylor says the full slate of names will be released as soon as the sixth member is confirmed. If SPLOST VI passes, the oversight committee will closely monitor SPLOST spending and report to the public through local media twice a year about how much money is collected and how that money is spent.
Boger says the oversight committee is a game-changer for him because, “I think officials need to be held accountable other than just at the ballot box. As we’ve seen in past elections not that many people show up at the ballot box.” SPLOST VI supporters are counting on a larger voter turnout this year because it’s a general election and there are several key state-wide races up for grabs. SPLOST VI was defeated in last year’s off-year election, in part, due to low voter turnout.
Taylor says she hopes Habersham Countians will take time to learn more about SPLOST VI between now and election day. There are three more public meetings scheduled. A town hall meeting will be held in Demorest on Wednesday, October 8, at 6 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Tallulah Falls will host a town hall meeting Thursday, October 9, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall. The last SPLOST VI public forum will be held Tuesday, October 14, at 6 p.m. at the Torch Worship Center located at 800 Cannon Bridge Road.
For more information about the proposed SPLOST VI projects visit the Haberhsam County Chamber of Commerce website.
