Asked about the Walker County, Ga., government’s long-term health, a $72 million gulf sits between two candidates.
Shannon Whitfield said Tuesday night on UCTV that taxpayers should consider themselves $84.3 million in debt. That estimation is about 58 percent north of the listed liabilities in the most recent county audit: $53.2 million.
Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell, meanwhile, has long stated that Whitfield’s estimations are overblown. In effect, she said in a statement last month, the county is really only about $12.6 million in debt.
The two could face off in the general election come November. Whitfield is running in the May 24 Republican Primary against Mike Peardon. Heiskell plans to run in the general election as an independent.
Asked about the debt, Peardon said he doesn’t know who is right. He believes the county’s audits are not accurate, that more debt might have been hidden. Is it more than Heiskell’s $12 million? Is it more than the $53 million in the audit? Is it more than Whitfield’s $84 million?