Posted: 3/15/2011 2:49:22 PM EDT
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Anyone else vote on the SPLOST today?
Five years ago it passed with a 114 vote margin in a roaring economy. My ignorant and uninformed guess is it will die by a large margin this time. I voted no, not because the projects weren't worthwhile but these kinds of routine, ongoing maintenance items need to be budgeted for outside of a temporary sales tax. |
| I voted 'present' by not voting since I was torn on the issue. I disagree with the assertion that the money should come from a regular budget instead of sales tax. If the government has to have money then I would rather it come from sales tax. Because the alternative is higher property taxes and higher fees like business licenses. So of the two choices I would rather the money come from a sales tax. The pro-sales tax people contend that 30% of the sales tax would be paid by non-Cobb residents. I do not know if the true number is that high but at least some portion of the sales tax would be paid by non-Cobb residents. My main problem with it was that some of the projects being funded by it were unnecessary. I would rather the money go into the 'general' fund to pay for regular expenses and therefore lower property taxes, county fees, etc. However, it rarely works like that and the end result would be they use the increased monies from the sales tax for 'extra' stuff and the property taxes don't go down. So I was a 'yes' on the concept of the county getting money from a sales tax instead of property taxes, but I was a 'no' on what the money would be used for. So the end result was 'present'. |
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Looks like it is going to pass with the same margin as last time with more than 50% of precincts reporting.
I'm not looking forward to Roswell Rd. being torn up for a year. http://results.elections.cobbcountyga.gov/results/03-15-2011/unofficial.htm ETA the dude on one of the banner pics is grinning like a Cheshire cat. I know why. 
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Quoted:
I voted 'present' by not voting since I was torn on the issue. I disagree with the assertion that the money should come from a regular budget instead of sales tax. If the government has to have money then I would rather it come from sales tax. Then vote for a permanent sales tax increase instead of the SPLOST. No item on the SPLOST list is "special". 90% of it is maintenance work. Dog parks? I think the residents can find private funding for a dog park. Bridge repairs? Those are items that should not be on an optional sales tax. |
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Quoted:
I voted 'present' by not voting since I was torn on the issue. I disagree with the assertion that the money should come from a regular budget instead of sales tax. If the government has to have money then I would rather it come from sales tax. Because the alternative is higher property taxes and higher fees like business licenses. So of the two choices I would rather the money come from a sales tax. The pro-sales tax people contend that 30% of the sales tax would be paid by non-Cobb residents. I do not know if the true number is that high but at least some portion of the sales tax would be paid by non-Cobb residents. My main problem with it was that some of the projects being funded by it were unnecessary. I would rather the money go into the 'general' fund to pay for regular expenses and therefore lower property taxes, county fees, etc. However, it rarely works like that and the end result would be they use the increased monies from the sales tax for 'extra' stuff and the property taxes don't go down. So I was a 'yes' on the concept of the county getting money from a sales tax instead of property taxes, but I was a 'no' on what the money would be used for. So the end result was 'present'. How about have the county government cut back on actual spending? I live in Cherokee but work in Cobb, so I REALLY appreciate paying for Cobb shit, as I do 99% of my shopping here. But, like I said. I am really thankful for those pretty signs that point the way to the mall. I've only worked in the area for the last 15 years, so it helps with navigation. |
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Quoted:
SPLOST paid for a new "Pope High School" Entrance sign with an LED display to show current events and such...as well as Lassiters, and i think Walton has one too. Pointless. yep they do and those things run in the high 4 digits Roswell rd really did need to be redone though I travel on it twice a week to school and it was a colossal mess thanks to people not knowing how to drive. If I could have voted it would have been HELL NO  but im only 17
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| SPLOST paid to improve a section of Powder Springs Rd just south of the Square near where I live. I will say, it looks so much better. As with any .gov spending, some projects will be good and others a waste. There is no avoiding .gov waste as long as politicians are in control of $$ unfortunately. |
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Quoted:
SPLOST paid to improve a section of Powder Springs Rd just south of the Square near where I live. I will say, it looks so much better. As with any .gov spending, some projects will be good and others a waste. There is no avoiding .gov waste as long as politicians are in control of $$ unfortunately. I drive by that area aswell and that is the BIGGEST waste of money yet it was unnecessary and way overkill for the area, in east cobb I could have understood something like that (all the rich soccer moms and multi-million $ homes) but that is one of the more grimy areas of cobb county(not the worst by far but still on the list). But yes there were pressing reasons for the tax such as the new jail, Courthouse, and radio system. They went way overboard and redid areas that were ok already and skipped over others.(jhonsons ferry rd could stand to be resurfaced though). |
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The big debate in Cobb was either SPLOST or higher property taxes. Since the economy dropped, Cobb didn't get as much revenue from property taxes as before. Many would rather have a sales tax since it would not only be Cobb residents who own property paying for roads that are used by other counties also. Many of the things fixed in West Cobb were to help the flow of traffic from Paulding into Cobb along Dallas Hwy/120.
The last SPOST helped out where I live a good bit. A new intersection was put in where it was badly needed and turn lanes were put in on another. |
