Dear Editor,
I couldn’t agree more with the writer of the Coastal Courier’s July 3 letter to the editor. To that end, on the morning of July 7, I visited the county commissioners’ office and requested an appointment with the chairman in hopes of getting on the agenda for an upcoming meeting. I was told by two sitting members that Chairman Lovett controls the agenda and who gets placed on it. My intention is to have a public discussion about budget issues. The receptionist took my card and said I would be contacted. As I submit this letter, it has now been over a week, and I have yet to hear from Chairman Lovett.
The commissioners are duly elected, and the ballot box is a place to make our voices heard.
However, being elected does not mean one is unaccountable until the next election.
I would like to be more informed about our county budget. On May 15, a budget proposal overview was presented. It took approximately 10 minutes, followed by unrelated discussion.
Then on June 3, the budget resolution was passed. In both instances, there was less than 15 minutes of public discussion by the board, with little to no detail provided.
Furthermore, no detailed information is posted in the minutes of either meeting. That lack of transparency carries over into the monthly finance report as well — once again, information is not displayed or made available for public review.
So, what exactly is this “rigorous process”? One undeniable result of it has been a 100% increase in Liberty County’s spending in less than six years, while the median household income has risen by less than 30%.
I would like to understand the nature of the “unique financial pressures” the county refers to.
Our property taxes are 38.6% higher than the state average.
That’s certainly unique. Our poverty rate is also 20% higher than the state average. Counties of all sizes throughout the state manage to provide services like EMS, Fire, and the Sheriff ’s Office. I would like to know what “robust” means in reference to our Sheriff ’s Office.
So I ask: why is our millage rate clearly higher than that of surrounding counties? Depending on the metrics used for measuring property tax, Liberty County ranks second and 19th out of Georgia’s 159 counties, and falls within the top 50% of all counties in the U.S.
That’s why I’m calling for greater transparency and accessible detail when it comes to our budget.
Fort Stewart is irrelevant to this conversation and should not be used to deflect budget concerns.
The county has never taxed the installation and will not do so for the foreseeable future. Fort Stewart’s economic impact in our area totals $3.64 billion, supporting over 27,400 jobs. In fact, the installation directly or indirectly affects more than 43,500 jobs in our region. For those of us who understand economics and remember what our area looked like in the early 1980s, the post is an enormous blessing—not a tax liability.
Regarding our veterans: each 100% disabled veteran contributes over $48,000 per year to the local economy from VA pensions alone.
Unfortunately, Liberty County’s high property tax rate drives many veterans and citizens to adjacent counties. Only those with exemptions can more comfortably afford to live here. This is a self-generated problem stemming from our property tax rates.
In closing, the original writer(s) did not fully address the facts surrounding Liberty County’s high property taxes. Our rates are 38.6% above the state average. Several other issues were raised that deserve clarification: What is the “rigorous collaborative process”?
Who participated? What was the board’s role — and why is so little done in public session? What does a “robust sheriff ’s office” cost in actual tax dollars? What makes Liberty County so “unique” that it alone has experienced this 100% increase in spending?
Elections do not exempt elected officials from accountability to their constituents, nor do they eliminate the responsibility for transparency in government. I encourage everyone to take a closer look at our county budget, the budget process, and the resulting property tax structure.
Glenn Burch