Editor, The U.S. government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army and the BRAC committee need to be thinking about closing down Fort Stewart.
I have read a lot in the Coastal Courier about the tea party people and rich people complaining about having to pay high property taxes here in Liberty County. The reason property taxes are high is because there was no infrastructure to begin with to support Fort Stewart and the 3rd Infantry Division or the 24th Infantry Division.
As Fort Stewart grew, so did the need to upgrade Liberty County’s infrastructure. For example, taxes go to fund the school system. The buildup of military families on Fort Stewart spurred a demand for more schools and teachers and a new board of education building.
Our taxes also fund the Liberty County government and the city of Hinesville’s government, both of which have to provide roads, water and sewer services and construction to meet the demands of people who come here because of Fort Stewart. The new Liberty County Justice Center and the new Hinesville City Hall were needed to keep up with the demands of Fort Stewart.
For a while, they didn’t even have buses or a transit system to meet the demands of Fort Stewart. Then they put in bus lines, but they need to run buses 24 hours a day or at least from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., which would cut down on the dues in Liberty County. You have the Tea Party people saying the transit system was a waste of taxpayers’ money, but if the bus lines were run right, a profit could be made in the long run.
I got most of the above information in the Coastal Courier. They printed a graph with a breakdown of what property taxes are used for.
I am surprised that the tea party property taxpayers have not contacted the U.S. government about closing down Fort Stewart, because it is causing their property taxes to go up each year. They are paying for the infrastructure to be updated each year to support the growth at Fort Stewart.
Liberty County was not ready for a military base in its backyard. It is not even ready to support the industrial parks in Liberty County, which also are causing high property taxes.
The Tea Party members here want to go back to the sleepy little county we once had so that it doesn’t cost the snotty rich people an arm and a leg to keep their two cars and mansions and other property they own.
Closing down Fort Stewart will lower property taxes more than doing away with the Liberty Transit system, which is only funded by a sliver of the property-tax pie.
I am very surprised the tea party people who pay property taxes haven’t written you a letter on this.
I hope this helps you bring down property taxes for the snotty rich people.

— Robert J. Wetmore
Hinesville