Fort Oglethorpe Councilman Steve Brandon said he will oppose Catoosa County’s special purpose sales tax on Sept. 16, and will recommend other residents vote “no” on the referendum, too.
“Taking this stance may not be popular, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “I received the SPLOST projects list this week proposed for the ballot, and based on the figures the west side of the county is once again taking a beating.”
But County Commissioner DeWayne Hill said if Mr. Brandon’s opposition prevails, the consequences will be dire for all county residents, including those in the cities.
“I can’t see anyone with good common sense wanting to push that stance if they care about the community and the county,” Mr. Hill said.
Defeat of the 1 percent sales tax would “place the county in a position of raising the tax burden on all working people,” he said. “The defeat of SPLOST will make it difficult to maintain our current level of operations.”
The special purpose local option sales tax by law must list on the referendum each “special purpose” for which the revenue will be used, and how much.
Also by law, the tax is in place for five years, or until the projected amount of money is collected, whichever is first. The projection for the proposed new tax is $56 million. Voters must approve renewal of the tax.
Mr. Brandon said he told Fort Oglethorpe City Manager Ron Goulart he was going public with his opposition to renewing the sales tax because, “I didn’t want him to hear of my decision second hand.”
The freshman councilman said Fort Oglethorpe will not receive much if the tax referendum passes. “The list now proposes $11 million in sewer projects for Ringgold and $5 million for Fort Oglethorpe.”
Mr. Brandon also said the county wants sales tax money to build fire stations to support its struggle with Fort Oglethorpe and Post Volunteer Fire Department over a fire service plan.
“The county can’t convince me that free labor (volunteer firefighters) isn’t cheaper than full-time firefighters,” he said. “That’s not an intelligent move on the fire issue, and the people will pay for it some way, some how.”
And he said it appears promised SPLOST projects never happen.
“Every year SPLOST is a lie to the public,” he said.
