SPLOST Debate Heats up
Posted Saturday, October 7, 2006
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Dave Richard, sitting county comissioner in District 4, is rarely one to one to sit out a good political debate. This November's SPLOST vote is no exception. Love him or hate him, Dave Richard does his part to make politics interesting in Forsyth County.
SPLOST is an acronym for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Its that extra 1% that gets tacked on to every dollar you spend in Forsyth County. By state law, this tax can only exist at the approval of the voters, and can only be used for specific purposes.
SPLOST is up for renewal in the November election, and in this case, the SPLOST FUNDS will be used forthe following school projects:
Payments on voter approved 1999 and 2005 bonds
Construct Lambert H.S., Haw Creek E.S, E.S. #10 and Lakeside M.S.
Construct addition at North Forsyth H.S.
School improvements and updates
Land for future school sites
Improvements to technology, transportation and safety
You can read more about the Referendum on the Forsyth County Schools Website or by clicking HERE
On Friday, Dave Richard published a 1700 word essay on his website explaining why he will not be supporting SPLOST.
Richard calls for an "intervention" against the school board for years of out of control spending. "The worst thing to do right now is to reward this school system with a virtual blank check for the next 5 years, and expect them to come forward with some fiscal discipline." Says Richard on his website.
You can read Dave Richard's entire message by clicking HERE
John Flack, Chairman of the Forsyth County Democratic Party, wasted little time in publishing a harsh rebuttal to Dave's Comments. " Commissioner Richards latest screed has exposed what most rational folks in the county would recognize. Dave Richard is a radical ideologue who is dangerous to the taxpayers in this county." Flack Said on the Democratic party website.
You can read the entire Democratic response by Clicking HERE
The timing of this could not be better for Forsyth County GOP Chairman Gray Smith. The Forsyth County GOP is holding an open town hall meeting on Tuesday evening to debate this issue. Click HERE for details on Tuesday's meeting.
Although the GOP has already stated they will not take an "official" stance on this issue as a party, you can expect quite a bit of opinionated comments to fly around on Tuesday night. This type of "spirited" debate is exactly what County GOP Chairman Gray Smith had in mind when he set out to launch "Operation Daylight" 10 years ago. Smith believes firmly in the power of public debate "It's the very core of our political culture" Smith said.
If you want to see local politics at its finest in Forsyth, plan to be at the Town Hall meeting Tuesday night. Click HERE for details and directions.
Meanwhile, the debate rages on in cyberspace. Just this afternoon, Dave Richard published a reponse to Flack's rebuttal Click HERE to read it.
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