The Downs Gazette

Volume I, Edition 4 July 10, 2016

Today's Guest Editor Silas Dogood:

           Greenwood County Capital Sales Tax Questions

Recently the local news published articles about the Greenwood County Capital Sales Tax final approved list and the question to be asked on the November General Election Ballot for us as citizens to vote for or against. This is a very important question, because it will provide more tax dollars for our elected officials to disburse. While they are somewhat limited on what they can use the funds for, let us not forget this was done once before in the early 2000 time period. How was that money spent?

The commission forwarded the list and question to the Greenwood County Council and they now have it in their approval process. The first reading occurred on 5 July and passed. The second reading will occur on 19 July and will offer time for public comment. During this reading the county council and finally the public will be made aware of more specifics other than just a brief description of the projects. The purposes behind the projects have not been made public. An individual may assume the purposes, but do we really know why these projects were selected. This is not to say the projects are not worthy, just it would be good to know what the specific purpose of the projects are as well as more detail about them.

Below is a list of questions, I hope the County Council members will ask about each one of these projects as well as the process for selection.

• Is this project a government requirement by law?
• Is this project a local government requirement by law?
• What is the anticipated longevity of the end product from the project?
• What are the cost benefits for the county and the public for the project?
• What are the long term sustainment and maintenance costs for this project?
• Will this project require an increase in taxes within the county to sustain or maintain it for the long term?
• If it will require an increase, how much and when will this increase be needed?
• Does the county have an agreement with the non-government organizations to maintain the project for 10 years?
• Does this agreement include a clause for repayment if the non-government organization does not fulfill the agreement?
• Who will monitor the projects and will this cause an increase in taxes?
• What criteria were used to choose this project?
• Were the same selection criteria applied to all projects throughout the process?

While I know none of our county council members will ask the following question, we as citizens need to ask it either in the meeting or to those who are in charge. Was this project selected to garner votes for the question? In other words, does this project truly need to be done or was this payment for votes from certain sections of the community?

I have been to the county website and looked at the information provided, but once again it is very lacking. The main committee either did not keep minutes of their meetings or have chosen not to publish them. This strikes me as very peculiar. Additionally, some minutes are complete for committees and other are not. Just  their lack of providing information is concerning.

Based on the information available, if the election were held today, I currently would not vote it. This is not to say my vote cannot be swayed, but numerous unanswered questions will need to be answered.

Questioning,

Silence Dogood 2016