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Meeting eases stance on tax hike
Published November 6, 2009
I’ve been critical in the past of the proposed millage rate hike in Gwinnett County, in particular how it was done. But after attending the town hall meeting last week, I’ve changed my mind — at least a little anyway.
You can’t help respecting the officials who voluntarily put themselves in the lions den, offering to attend the meeting and answer questions from what promised to be an angry crowd if meetings in the spring were anything to go by.
In what turned out to be a very informative meeting, the Gwinnett County officials clearly articulated the problems, laid out what they believed were solutions and seem prepared to openly share information with members of Freedom Works and Citizens for Responsible Government who organized the forum. Obviously what eventually happens when the vote is taken will prove how much of a compromise, if any, officials are prepared to make. But early indications do give rise for some optimism.
Listening to Gwinnett County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly, I sort of understood his dilemma. He obviously felt he owed it to his constituents who have children participating in Little League to fight for what is obviously an issue for them. I thought about my granddaughter who I so enjoyed watching in her first year of softball this fall. I wouldn’t like for her to not be able to participate and it would obviously be expensive for her parents if they had to come up with the extra money should funding at county parks fall away. In fact, I’m not even sure they would be able to afford it.
But there is another side to that equation. Isn’t that her parents’ problem, or mine as her grandmother? Is it right for me to make it every other taxpayer in the county’s problem? My granddaughter plays in Walton County but it’s really only the location that is different — the problem would still be the same.
To me it seemed a little like the problem we have with the government and special interests on a national level. There are some things we can’t do on our own at a national level — like national security. Public safety at the local level is much the same. But maybe people need to be a little more responsible for other things that are important to them.
If we didn’t have to pay so much into other people’s special interests, like private airports in some state we will likely never use at a national level, or a ball field we might not use or have children or grandchildren to use locally, maybe we would all have a little more money in our pockets to invest in our own special interests.
People attending the forum were respectful for the most part but definitely let their feelings known. Everybody is feeling the pinch right now and want to keep more of their money to sort out their own problems. With the exception of funding for public safety, it was pretty clear from the forum a tax hike in Gwinnett County would not go down well right now.
More information on last week’s forum can be found on the Web at www.loganvilletribune.
com under “More News” — “Update: Residents sound off on tax hike.”
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