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What our Readers Are Saying

Letters

to the Editor

PTC's ex-mayors support SPLOST

A Letter to our fellow Peachtree City citizens

Collectively, we represent 42 years of leadership in Peachtree

City, the entire time the city has been in existence.

Our freely given time, talents and energy helped make our city

the great place to live that is today.

We all made difficult decisions and endured short-term criticisms

as we tried to ensure the long-term success and viability of

Peachtree City. We think we did a pretty good job.

Now it is your turn to make a difficult decision, your turn

to contribute to the future quality of life in Peachtree City.

No one likes to pay additional taxes but if we fail to pass

the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax to provide seed money

for future road and transportation projects in Peachtree City,

the quality of life in Peachtree City will always be less than

it might have been.

What happens if we fail to act?

The rules have changed. In the future any community that cannot

help itself with transportation project dollars will get no federal

or state money either.

Having no local resources we will lose hundreds of millions

of federal and state dollars.

In essence, those federal and state dollars (our taxes!) will

be spent in other communities, not here.

Those who come to our city to work, shop, eat, play or worship

will continue to get a free ride, literally!

Almost every other county in metro Atlanta has a sales tax for

transportation.

Every time we spend money outside Fayette County we help them

pay for their transportation improvements. It would be nice if

they would do the same for us!

What happens if we do act?

Our local money will leverage hundreds of millions of dollars

in federal and state money to make transportation improvements

all over Fayette County.

The people who visit our community will pay a significant portion

of the new sales tax instead of getting a free ride.

The money coming to Peachtree City from the SPLOST will be sufficient

to put into place just about every transportation improvement

we realistically need to make for the next 15 to 20 years.

We will be able to improve and expand our already unique and

remarkable cart path system.

We all like to complain about traffic and taxes. Unfortunately

there are no free rides so doing something about traffic will

require accepting a 1 percent higher sales tax for five years.

The plans and the financing are well thought out and this is

the best and fairest way to raise the money.

We urge you to vote "Yes" for the Special Purpose

Local Option Sales Tax for transportation projects in Fayette

County.

Peachtree City is nearly built out and finished. Please do not

let our 42 years of effort and leadership fall short. Vote "Yes" for

the SPLOST and ensure that our city will remain a great place

live in the future.

Joel Cowan, mayor, 1959-1965

Ralph Jones, mayor, 1966-1969

Chip Conner, mayor, 1970-1971

Herb Frady, mayor, 1978-1981

Fred Brown, Jr., mayor, 1982-1991

Bob Lenox, mayor, 1992-2001

Editor's note: The letter also contained as a signatory

Howard Morgan, mayor, 1972-1977, and listed him as "deceased,

with his wife's permission."

PTC Mayor Brown opposes tax distribution formula

Interesting editorial [column by J. Frank Lynch] on the SPLOST.

It brought out a lot of emotion about sharing because we are

all part of one big fuzzy county.

Sharing is great but I wonder why the county never shared with

Peachtree City when we widened Ga. Highway 54 East, Ga. Highway

74 North or any other road project in the past (including the

current Hwy. 54 W. and future Hwy. 74 S.)?

Why is it that now that the county has some big dollar road

projects on the table that it is a great time to begin sharing?

Why do would we only receive $11 million out of $130 million

total?

How come when the state passed a new law endorsed by the Association

of County Commissioners of Georgia providing for the fair distribution

(sharing) of the tax revenue that the county circumvented it?

Why do you think that every county in metro Atlanta that had

to negotiate a SPLOST this year used the new state SPLOST fairness

law except for Fayette County?

The Citizen Newspaper has initiated a new program where 60 percent

of your wages will now go to your colleague John Thompson because

he has to pay for his food, transportation and rent. You will

still be responsible for paying your own expenses and producing

the same amount of work for the newspaper.

I know that you have to pay for food, transportation and rent

also but there is a need to share and help John because you are

all part of The Citizen Newspaper.

If it helps John, it helps you because you work for the newspaper;

without the newspaper you would not have a job.

There is a new state law that allows for you to receive a fair

salary for the work you produce, but do not worry; the new law

(endorsed by the reporters union) will not be used in your particular

case.

The AJC, Fayette Neighbor and Fayette Daily News are all using

the new staff fair pay law for distributing their payroll.

We do not have a problem with your having to pay 60 percent

of your wages to John if it helps keep him at The Citizen Newspaper.

The people of Fayette County need to know that our county was

the ONLY county in metro Atlanta that did not use the new state

SPLOST fairness law this year and I hope that you will report

on this very important fact.

Steve Brown, mayor

Peachtree City, Ga.

Pfeifer: 'Good road network is good for all of us'

I'm writing about the Special Purpose Local Option Sales

(SPLOST) Tax. I voted as a county commissioner to place this

question on your ballot so that you would have the opportunity

to have your say on this issue.

I will also be voting with you, as a voting and taxpaying citizen,

on the question. I'm personally going to vote "YES" and

these are my reasons.

It is better, for all of us, to have a good road network rather

than a poor road network. We need to improve our roads just to

handle the growth that has already taken place in our county

and in the surrounding counties. A good plan should account for

future growth.

The proposed traffic plan is revised and updated from plans

first put on paper in the late 1980s and early '90s. The

revised plan addresses both current and future needs.

If we proceed with the plan, it has to be paid for. That is

why older plans were not fully completed. We had no specific

local funding source for the plan and the burden was too high

to put only on the local property tax payer.

We need local money to do local projects. We also need some

local money, by state and federal law, to match portions of state

and federal funding as it comes back into our community.

Those who are familiar with my position know that I recognize

that this state and federal money is also OUR money, coming back

here for OUR roads.

A SPLOST is the best way to pay for these road improvements.

It is targeted, as best we can, towards those who drive on and

use our roads.

A SPLOST is the only way we can get the assistance of those

who DON'T live in our county but DO come here and buy things

in our county, so that they can help pay for the roads that they

use to enter, drive around and leave our county.

Estimates for this number range up to, and over, 50 percent.

I don't know what the number truly is but it seems that

out-of-county people could end up paying for half or more of

our road improvements.

The SPLOST ends when the five years expire or when the goal

is reached, whichever comes FIRST.

It can only be used for the purposes on the ballot; build or

repair those specific roads. So, it is focused, it is specific,

it targets only those who use our roads and it ends at a certain

time or dollar amount (no games).

I'm not going to play with words or play with politics.

This issue has been too burdened with that. It's been silly

and I hope you're too smart to fall for those, pro or con.

I will put it simply.

It's completely up to you. Do you want your local road

network improved?

If you do, vote "YES" on the SPLOST and it will happen.

If you don't want better roads, vote "NO" and

it won't happen.

Peter Pfeifer

Fayette County commissioner

'Yes,' 'No' on bond votes

I support the bond issue to improve our schools. They do a great

job educating with the resources they have and should receive

our full support.

The SPLOST issue is a monster all its own. I encourage everyone

to vote against it for the following reason.

Our elected officials should regulate out-of-control annexing

and building before asking for support on this issue. Had our

officials done this, I don't believe traffic would be the

nightmare that currently exists.

When a development plan is reviewed, upgrades to surrounding

roads should be required for all projects, not just the ones

that help divert an existing problem.

New roads would bring new development and the roads we just

paid for would be useless.

That is the hidden agenda they don't want you to know about

until it's too late.

a message to our officials that we expect them to regulate (not

stop) the developments.

Look at the impact of the surrounding area before approving

a project and stop asking the taxpayers to foot the bill for

your mistakes.

Matt Bergen

Peachtree City, Ga.

School bond benefits all

This is an appeal to all our Fayette voters to seriously consider

voting "Yes" on the school bond issue at the polls

on November 2. As a parent who has run the gamut of home-schooling,

private-schooling and sending her children to public schools,

I believe it is imperative to stay informed about local educational

issues, and to be involved in our public school system.

It is my hope that some day in the near future, our school system,

perhaps through the charter school, will offer access to courses

and activities for our home-schooled and private-schooled students.

After all, each of these students' families contributes

to the tax base that supports the public school system.

If as a home-school or private-school family, you do vote for

this school bond, I encourage you to e-mail the school board,

letting them know you support the bond.

If enough private or home-school families show support in this

way, the school board may be more apt to include such students

in future plans as the school system evolves.

Please, vote "Yes" for the school bond, and let the

school board hear your voice.

Linda Sutton

Fayetteville, Ga.

Health care position comes with some perspective

Once again I have been challenged by people that would rather

judge me anonymously than sign their name to their respective

posts. Please allow me this retort and after this one they can

say whatever they want .

The first post alluded to the fact that he/she had been in this

county 28 years and have never seen such an arrogant letter about

health care insurance and how I should be thankful for my "good

fortune" and "good health."

Facts: After enduring nine months of Castro's cruelty I

left Cuba in 1959 minus a fortune that my father made working

six days a week 12 hours a day in Caracas, Venezuela for years.

I came out with a pregnant wife, and $100 to my name.

This meant putting behind college at Georgia Tech six-plus months

before graduation. I went to work for a hardware store making

a grand total of $25 a week. From there to work at a can manufacturing

plant for $1.75 per hour. During that time I had to file for

bankruptcy.

I worked my way to millwright making $12 per hour in 1968. Tired

of wildcat strikes after the union came in, I started to work

part-time hanging wallpaper.

I had business cards printed, passed them out, and after a while

people and builders started calling. For a good while I worked

both jobs, sleeping only about five hours a day.

One of my contractors offered me the wallpaper installation

in 287 apartment units and I gave up the "benefits" at

my regular job to become self-employed.

Two years after I quit, the company shut down the plant because

the union demands did not allow the profitability of the plant.

So much for benefits!

I still work my job in Peachtree City and have since 1968. In

spite of all the money I made, and for different reasons I wound

up divorced in 1983.

At age 47 I had a grand total of $12,000, all the bills, and

half interest in a home to my name.

I want you to think about this: When you are self-employed you

don't get guarantees of 40 hour a week. When I finish every

job the reality is that I am laid off until the next job comes

up. Unless you have a lot of jobs lined up you will spend some

time with nothing to do, and some times it can turn into weeks,

no work, no pay.

I get no paid holidays, no paid vacation, and I have to please

my customers because when you are self-employed your reputation

is the only thing that will keep you in business.

I disciplined myself, invested what little I had and kept on

working long days. Now at age 69 next December I still work three

jobs. Soon I will have to limit my work in favor of one of them

that does not involve hard physical work. Will I ever retire?

No!

We live in a modest home, do not own a car, we have two basic

pickup trucks, the newest one being a 1999 model.

When I met my bride in 1986, she worked at the time as a secretary

at the Peachtree City cable company. Soon after, the company

was sold and she was laid off.

Instead of complaining she started delivering newspapers and

cleaned houses. It was only in 1988 when she applied to Delta

that she was hired. Insurance kicked in six months later.

Health? We have been visited by sickness over and over again

including cancer. Six operations and even today chronic diseases

affect us.

Medicare? No, I will not give it up because they charge me for

it and I contributed. By the way, Social Security benefits will

increase by 2.7 percent this next year, and a good part of that

raise is going to be used to pay another increase on Medicare

premiums.

My God? Christian, we are Roman Catholic, so you know we spend

a lot of time on our knees! When we die all of our assets will

go to our parish.

You don't know what we have contributed to our church and

who we have helped over the years and still do.

Do we thank God for what we have? Definitely, and we thank Him

that the cancer has not returned for years now, and that in spite

of our health problems we are able to function as we get older.

Talk about judging!

Health care? To the second person who is obviously is a lady,

the biggest part of the outrageous health care costs that are

forcing your husband to go