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$9.56 million SPLOST vote called

Posted by
Laura Geiger
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Wednesday, November 17. 2010
Comments (47)
The elected and appointed bodies governing Lamar County and its municipalities unanimously agreed to call a SPLOST referendum at an intergovernmental meeting this morning.

The vote to extend the special local option sales tax will be held on March 15, 2011.

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#1 Anonymous on 11/17/10 at 09:45 AM
wait a minute. didnt we all just get a bill for a fire fee? now they want to do a SPLOST to fund fire protection. i dont know about anyone else but im going to jays house to eat my thanksgiving dinner cause he is going to have a spread to beat anything that has ever been seen.
#2 momofone on 11/17/10 at 10:01 AM
WTH?!? What, exactly, is infrastructure improvements? And does Milner really need a library? I'll bet they could drive into Barnesville to go to the library if they really wanted to rent a book. Fire protection- is this going to be included in every tax/fee imposed by our local gov't now? That's just funny. And what exactly is recreation? I'm beginning to think our local government is spending all this money on a LOT of recreational activities... like the local "dealer"! That would explain where all these wacky ideas are coming from!
#3 stgfox on 11/17/10 at 10:11 AM
Fire protection. then why is that in the splost? I thought the ems/fire fee was covering that. I smell double dip here, or triple dip.
#4 Anonymous on 11/17/10 at 10:14 AM
WOW... talk a about a kick in the teeth... have we just been blind sided?
#4.1 Julia H on 11/17/10 at 07:03 PM
Looks like it to me... I wish this had been up before the meeting. It would have been even worse!
#5 Randy on 11/17/10 at 10:37 AM
Out of Control!!!!!
#6 Anonymous on 11/17/10 at 11:01 AM
Just how much revenue is enough?
#7 Anonymous on 11/17/10 at 11:32 AM
I am in hopes that will be a way that they can eliminate the fire tax fee if they are able to include it in SPOST. Would like to know the dates of meetings that will be held to decide how Splost will be used and let the public's input help decide. Please post dates of meetings!
#8 anon on 11/17/10 at 11:39 AM
These people have lost their [email protected]#king mind.NOT NO, HELL NO!!!!!
#9 Gary McCall on 11/17/10 at 12:32 PM
NO! Lamar county has already proven they abuse SPLOST funds and breaks the laws govering SPLOST. Remember the Ag Authority and the misuse of funds?
#10 H B on 11/17/10 at 12:39 PM
Noticing that spread of who gets what from SPLOST, what about the City of Aldora, or is it a city? All I see is rental houses, and who owns them? Additionally there is a Medical Building being built on what appears to be Aldora Property.
Who owned that property. I wonder about that. Does anyone have a realistic answer?
#11 CC on 11/17/10 at 01:08 PM
Man I think this county is so broke, they are gonna put it all on us...I wish I could sell my property and wash my hands of this good ole boy county!!! we need to pull together and fight this crap!!! Its getting out of hand... I agree I bet jay dont go without!!!
#12 Anonymous on 11/17/10 at 01:17 PM
Damn! every time you turn around ,Money, Money, Money!
#12.1 Anonymous on 11/19/10 at 09:17 AM
Exactly! they are so money hungry and arent even putting things that are exactly even meant for the people who are paying. lamar county/ bville is dead -_-
#13 Randy on 11/17/10 at 01:34 PM
We told them months ago we did not want a tax increase. SO they sent us a tax disguised as a "fee." We told them last night we knew it was really a tax and we were not happy about it. They finally admitted it was a tax increase. This morning they vote for more taxes.
I want a library in Milner as much as anybody but times are hard, money is tight and now is not the time to build a library or spend any money on anything that is not necessary. They act like they can't hear, or maybe they just don't care?
I really did not want to get involved but I might have to run this next time!
#13.1 Julia H on 11/18/10 at 03:27 AM
You have my vote!!!!!!! This is insult on top of injury. I wish we had known about this the day BEFORE the Commission meeting. I wish ALL of you would come to the next TEA Party meeting in B/ville. There is strength in numbers!

There is a forum for it now. just go to www.lamarteaparty.org and click on forum. You gotta join to post, but lets get together and make some plans to let those commissioners know just how serious we are!!!!!

We need to make our voices heard so loud and clear that some commissioners get the message!

Julia
#13.2 Anonymous on 11/18/10 at 02:52 PM
RANDY Please get involved. If you have solutions share them. If not ,stop moaning and please do run. RUN FAR FAR AWAY!
#13.3 rhoda dunn on 11/19/10 at 11:15 AM
sounds like someone should run, look on bright side, you could not do any worse. there should be a representative from each district to go to comm. meeting each month to exspose the new bright ideas of the idiots that run this county. this is where they pull wool over citizens and sneak unwanted and rediculous laws that could be voted down before they start. good luck, these people need somebody to represent them. vote all new and start over. it could only get better.
#14 stgfox on 11/17/10 at 01:43 PM
MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! that all Lamar County is after. GREED.
#15 momofone on 11/17/10 at 02:06 PM
Brilliant idea: how about approving this sales tax and PAYING OFF DEBT rather than these special-interest projects!
#16 Anonymous on 11/17/10 at 02:25 PM
when yall are protesting at the courthouse about the fire fees yall just got in the mail, go ahead and protest this too. Kill 2 birds with one stone.
#16.1 momofone on 11/18/10 at 08:18 AM
Ya'll? WTH is wrong with you? Why can't you show up and support something?
#17 out the pocket on 11/17/10 at 03:32 PM
As far as the extension of the splost., Wayne Patterson said the one penny extension would not be a "new tax", but would likely generate 9.5 million. Lamar county will receive 5,356.131 .. Break down on how our money hungry out of control commissioners would spend this:
250,000.00 For a new roof for service center
350,000.00 For recreational projects & equipment
500,00.00 For Fire dept. equipment & Fire Station Improvements.
495,000.00 For Public Works Equipment
3,261,131.00 For roads and bridges
There is going to be a special election on March 15th, 2011 for this to be approved. I say NO WAY to this tax extension. This needs to be voted down. We need to start now campaigning against this and putting signs out, NO to 6 year splost extension. We already know our present commissioners only spend , not cut taxes. When I grew up, I wore hand me downs, we took turns getting the clean tub water. My mother used the same bath water for both of us., cause we did not have alot of money and every penny counted. Our treat for candy was sugar cane. Our wrangler jeans had patches on the knees. New soles on our shoes and taps on the heels to keep them from wearing down. All I am saying to the county government is you can cut back if you want to. The problem is you are spending other peoples money . I am sure if you ran your household budget like you have ran our county budget each one of you would be out of house and in bankruptcy court. Why isn't the money on the recreation dept.( As for as wants and needs., this is a "want" in my book not a "need." ) being spent on our deficit. And the fire dept. is another story. By the time you commissioners finish blowing our hard earned money on the fire dept. we should have one heck of a jam up firehouse and equipment for 3 fire fighters. Why can't you stop the spending? We are in a recession. You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, but you are trying. As far as roads, I haven't seen roads paved here in years. A few patches here and there for cracks and potholes. QUIT SPENDING MONEY WE DON'T HAVE.Be content and thankful for what the county has and make to do until times are better. Work with what you have. Get rid
#18 Anonymous on 11/17/10 at 04:07 PM
Damn. By the time Fire/EMS gets all this money they are going for, each home in Lamar County should have a Fireman living in an RV Home on the front lawn.

In other words NO! Quit trying to build this million dollar fire station just down the road from the Barnesville Fire Station. This is how Lamar likes to waste money.

SPLOST SPLOST SPLOST. When in doubt, just call everything SPLOST. The last SPLOST built a multimillion dollar stadium and a multimillion dollar Auditorium. I'm done with SPLOST.
#19 It's Me on 11/17/10 at 06:28 PM
"LC Service Center at the old Barnesville Academy building"

Just why would SPLOST funds be funding anything there??? Seriously, what on earth do these people think they are doing??? And why in the hell should the tax payers of this county be funding it???
#20 cats on 11/18/10 at 04:49 AM
So, it's not looking so good for the SPLOST, now is it?
And come election time, it's not looking so good for some folks either.
#21 GM on 11/18/10 at 06:10 AM
Another abuse of SPLOST funds was the purchase of a fire truck for several hundred thousand - which the truck was sold and a much smaller truck pruck purchased.

SPLOST must be voted on by the people. The SPLOST money by law must be used for the purpose it wss voted for. It cannot be used to pay off debt. It can only be used to fund other SPLOST projects within the vote if the completed project has excess funds remaining of the funded project. If after all projects are complete and excess money remains, it can be used to reduce property tax.

This is the site to the SPLOST Guide. Research it yourself. The 400K of SPLOST returned by the Ag Authority was misused. SPLOST money must be kept in separtate accounts and cannot be placed in the General Fund. A SPLOST project cannot be abandoned. Lamar County receives af "F" grade.

- This site should take you the SPLOST Guide.

http://www.accg.org/library/SPLOSTGuideFinal2008.pdf
#21.1 anon on 11/18/10 at 08:56 AM
Thanks for the info for doing research on splost funds. If you check , you will find out they have already collected over the amount they projected for the 1 penny sales tax we are now paying. Does that tell you why the county administrator and commissioners are jumping at the chance to extend this for another 6 years. They think we want have a problem with this because it is only a "penny" added on to the sales tax. Is there any way an audit can be done to see where the splost money went and where it is being spent now? EVERY PENNY OF IT. Who do we contact at the capitol about this? Our congressman? There has got to be a dept. within the government through the state that checks for corruption and misuse of funds or Watchdog groups. I am going to start checking and making phonecalls and sending emails. Can you go to the commissioners office and ask for a detailed print out of the splost funds and where the money is going? I hope Walter pursues this for the paper and does research on the local splost. I am ready to get organized now with locals to knock on doors and send flyers out to educate the rest of the people in the county about this. This has got to stop. We need to get word out and get a fund set up to contribute for flyers being sent out and meetings set up. It is time the local people take back the county government. I don't know about you , but I am walking around with my pockets hanging out. I have no money. These commssioners are not handling our money right. I have taken my landline out, cable tv, cut back to 63 on my thermostat, put in a wooden stove, installed a clothes line, eat out once a month, cause I do not have the money and it is getting worse unstood of better. You commissioners need to learn to do without. Have you ever thought about buying used equipment, what is your thermostat set on at the commissioners office? Do you need all those phone lines? How many cellphones do you supply for county employees? You are living high on the hog compared to me. And it is my money you are using to do it. What do you pay for internet service? Being you are county commissioners, tax assessors, employees of the county, you deserve the best right? WRONG
#21.1.1 GM on 11/18/10 at 11:16 AM
Check the SPLOST guide. Accurate records of spending must be accounted for.

About the only person that can do anything is the sheriff or chief of police. They can take the complaint but to get anything done they would need to contact the state attorney general. You as a private citizen cannot bring a complaint to the AG. It has to be done by law enforcement or a governmental official.

What does that say for expected assistance? The law enforcement budget is controlled by government officials!
#21.1.2 MK on 11/26/10 at 05:46 AM
You are absolutely correct. We have downsized completely, no heat, no dishwasher, no phone, no dining out, and Wal-Mart cell phone. When we all are sharing the pain then something will be done. If you are on the dole, the take or on my wallet, why would you care? This city is drying up; the “for rent” and vacant buildings attest to that. How and why did that happen, the intentional dumbing down of the citizenry? Get engaged people; it is time for some fresh air in Lamar County. Those that are paying are tired of supporting those that are taking. I would suggest a job but that is not going to happen here. It is time for some personal ownership.
#22 Anonymous on 11/18/10 at 07:45 AM
I like how they picked a date in March for the vote. I guess they are hoping for low voter turnout
#23 Anonymous on 11/18/10 at 08:27 AM
looks like republicans know how to tax and spend just like the democrats in Washington
#24 Anonymous on 11/18/10 at 08:43 AM
shouldn't lamar county/barnesville be charged, fined, imprisoned for violating the SPLOST laws as mentioned in #21 above?
#25 do da on 11/18/10 at 12:05 PM
remember the first roads to be paved when our chairman was elected? well it was brent road all the way to your chairmans house what you think that cost us. guess he needs better than the rest of us.
#26 Anonymous on 11/18/10 at 03:21 PM
I and many others will vote this down!
#26.1 Anonymous on 11/18/10 at 04:53 PM
It doesnt matter if you vote it down or protest. The commissioners will get what they want somehow. It'll probably be called the recreation/road fee.
#27 Scott E on 11/19/10 at 08:26 AM
Please vote NO on SPLOST extension. Then after that vote to get rid of our commissioners who don't seem to understand cutting costs.
#28 Stupid LC on 11/19/10 at 09:20 AM
U need to put a skating rink and movie theater down here with all this damn money we paying! this boring town needs some fun. I think we should protest because they arent even considering what the people want
#29 abbycadabby on 11/20/10 at 06:14 AM
If my old memory services me correctly the AG Center debacle that ultimately led to our 5 million stadium all started as a splost. enough said.
#30 Anonymous on 11/20/10 at 08:06 AM
We can vote it down if we want to, but it's the only tax we have that EVERYBODY pays. We would just be shooting ourselves in the foot, as taxpayers, if it doesn't pass.
#30.1 Quality of Life on 12/03/10 at 12:17 PM
I agree, SPLOST needs to pass. If we don't pass it then improvements that can upgrade and enhance our community will not and cannot happen. We have to pass this. People keep saying we will take care of our own ... this is how we do it. This is not a blanket tax like property tax, this is a sales tax. SPLOST is the one way Gordon College students, visitors, and others who don't pay the same taxes we do as property owners can contribute to our towns and county. Studies have shown that when quality of life improves in a community so do investments from industry and commerical... which in turn increases the tax base, which in turn could eventually lower our individual taxes. I know for a fact that people from other counties shop at our Ingles and come to our town to spend money. College students spend their money in town, why not benefit from that - enrollment is at 5,000, that's an extra 5,000 people who are here to spend money. People keep saying we'll take care of our own, I don't know a better way to do it. We have an existing SPLOST and it has done some good here. As some of you have mentioned on this blog, there were mistakes made... bet they won't happen again. The bottom line is our library needs improvements, we have the potential to make a real contribution to Barnesville's quality of life and attractiveness to investors through the development of Summersfield Park, and we need to upgrade some of our infrastructure systems. If we don't raise the money for the infrastructure system improvements through SPLOST where everyone shares, you better believe there will be collections made in other ways. This is a tax on the sales of goods only, this would not be an increase in what we see, nothing will change in your everyday life. You naysayers... when you leave Lamar County to shop in other counties look at your sales receipt...I'll bet you are paying 1% or 2% more than we do here... thus you are contributing to someone elses community and their wish list projects. If we don't pass this, I fear the result and our future will be far worse and there will be more problems.
#30.2 WE THE PEOPLE on 03/03/11 at 11:13 AM
TO: Anonymous #30 You are correct everyone will have to pay, even me. The thing is, not one project I saw will effect my life. I don't use sidewalk, bc I don't live in Town. Renovating public buildings? What about my house? I'm lucky to put food on the table. I don't have kids so I don't need a Park, or a Rec center. You do know the kids playing little league sports have to pay them self. What does that money pay for? The man who ran the Rec Dept for years put money away to help pay for kids who's parents couldn't afford it. I think he was let go for that.
To buy equipment for fire stations and firefighting apparatus? WT# I thought the ems/fire thingie what ever its called was to pay for firefighting apparatus??
#31 Anonymous on 11/22/10 at 05:59 PM
you think we have it bad here. i found out that in gastonia N C they have to pay $2.75 a month on their power bill for water runoff.thats for the water that runs down the road while it is raining and after. thats every month whether it rains or not.
#31.1 OH GREAT... on 11/23/10 at 01:02 PM
Thanks (NOT) for pointing this out, now we will probably have this fee added for the tax payers of Lamar County. They are just trying to show us that they can do whatever they want... tax payers of Lamar need to unite and show them we will NOT approve additional SPLOSH.
#31.2 WE THE PEOPLE on 03/03/11 at 10:33 AM
ANONYMOUS 31. WHAT THEY DO IN NC. DOESN'T EFFECT ME.! It sounds to me they were stupid to believe they needed to pay that. Lets keep this in Lamar County. Please.
#32 H B on 11/24/10 at 11:12 AM
I keep hearing about all these fees, and all the other places that have these kinds of fees.
At no time have I seen where the citizens have filed class action suits to determine if these fees are constitutional.
Especially those who come under proviing for the common defence (fire) and general welfare (ambulance). Hopefully this will eventually take place, and a determination made.
#33 Anonymous on 11/25/10 at 05:58 PM
Lamar County announces another round of tax increases, with nearly half of the county-wide tax revenues going to the City of Barnesville. This money is to assist the City of Barnesville since the the ag authority SPLOST money the County illegally gave the City and the school system was not enough.

In other news Encore Plastics Corporation, a Sandusky, Ohio-based injection molder and thermoformer, will locate a distribution and manufacturing operation in the city of Forsyth in Monroe County. The plant will manufacture and distribute an assortment of paint-related packaging items, along with a full line of industrial pails. Encore will begin operation in first quarter 2011 with 25 employees and anticipates expanding the facility and hiring up to 100 employees in the near future.
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