First, I would like to say that I am in favor of the "idea" of what SPLOST taxation is supposed to be and have in the past voted for it because used properly this is truly the fairest form of taxation there is. The problem has been (and still is ) that instead of using the money to reduce the burden on property owners like we're constantly told it will do, it’s being used to make government bigger and to remodel buildings that probably should have long ago been torn down.
I don't know about other property owners in Sumter County, but my property taxes have increased dramatically over the past few years. A past newspaper article about the 7 percent sales tax collected in Sumter County stated that 4 percent goes to the State and the rest stays here. This may be wrong, but it seems like it has been more than 30 years since we paid only 4 percent sales tax in Sumter County. Whenever it was, we were told that this "new" form of taxation would: 1. Reduce or keep property taxes from going up and, 2. last less than five years.
The newspaper can’t hold everything I could write about this, but I think anyone reading this knows the rest of the story. As for the hospital and the need this community has for an adequate medical facility, I for one, do not believe that the hospital deserves a free ride at taxpayer expense; however, other than spiritual medicine, I can't think of any greater need this community has at this time than a GOOD medical facility. I don't want to sound cruel, but the last time I had to go the hospital for care, I was asked if I had insurance. Surely there was some property insurance and by now, if the insurance companies have not paid, it’s time to turn them over to the insurance commissioner to get something started. I believe that local or state government should make short-term, no-interest loans available upon approval of an acceptable, permanent, rebuilding plan.
During the last several months, I have read newspaper articles that said the county commissioners are: 1. Asking for a millage increase in property taxes, 2. Asking for us to vote for SPLOST tax to keep property taxes from going up, and, 3. Refusing to offer any assistance to our hospital for what I think 99 percent of Sumter Countians would have supported. I don't know about other Sumter County taxpayers, but I for one know the difference between someone pouring water out of a bucket on my head and trying to tell me its raining outside.
Remember what I said at the start, it's not the tax that’s not fair, it's the people spending out tax dollars! Only the voter can do something to change this. Get out and vote!
Al Johnson
Americus
On June 4 my husband had a heart attack and I took him to Urgent Care from where he was transferred to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. The staff at Urgent Care was sensational. They understood that we were handling the heart attack badly and that we were very scared. After all, how many 48 year olds have a heart attack? They really cared about not only his survival but also the effect this was having on our family.
The only way Urgent Care could have been better was if we had the option of a full-service medical hospital with a complete cardiology unit. I hope none of our county or community leaders have an urgent need for medical care. If so, they could lose their lives by having to be transferred out of town.
How very typically shortsighted of our county commissioners to put unusable "historic" buildings that will still be unusable after spending millions of dollars on them before the truly important needs of our community. Why don't they go back to the cities and county departments for new priority lists of projects? If they really care about our community and its citizens they will all agree that a hospital is much more important than renovating any buildings regardless of their non-monetary value. This issue alone shows that our elected officials don't care about growth or renewal of Sumter County or its cities. If they did then they would certainly have already told everyone but the hospital to come back in 2015, and not have told the hospital authority that ridiculous time frame. By the time 2015 comes around, Sumter County and its communities will be nothing more than shells without a hospital. This community cannot withstand the loss of another employer. Small businesses are already in trouble due to the loss of Collins and Aikman, whether they admit it or not. What will happen when the hospital has to let nearly 700 more people become unemployed? We have a Lowe's opening soon. How long will it be open without employed people in our area to shop there? How long will any of our businesses stay open or here in Sumter County without employed people to pay their bills or purchase goods and services?
It’s time to take the blinders off. We need a hospital and we need employers. What we don't need is to frivolously spend our tax dollars on buildings that still won't be safe to use or permit anyone to have a long-term permanent job. This comes right after they have voted to raise my property taxes by over 44 percent.
What are our County Commissioners thinking? It certainly isn't about what is best for the citizens.
Terri Crawford
Americus
Our elected Board of County Commissioners has an important decision to make regarding the distribution of the yet to be approved SPLOST funds. The detailed list of projects is good for all of the municipalities listed. However, the board needs to understand there are other pressing priorities rather than renovating dilapidated and run down historical structures.
I am not advocating the destruction of important historical buildings. I attended both Furlow and Reese Park Schools. These two famous places are dear to me and should be preserved at all costs.
Sumter Regional Hospital needs renovating as well since the March 1 tornado and $8.5 million is needed. The board is proposing spending approximately $6 million on preserving these important landmarks. Since the renovating of Reese Park has already begun then let that project proceed and bring it back to life as a center of the historical area of town. On the other hand, $4.5 million is being proposed for Furlow School. Furlow has been vacant for an extremely long time. How much longer would it be vacant if renovated? Would new or existing business occupy and locate to that area of town? Does anyone think the same people that busted out windows and otherwise destroyed the vacant Furlow building would stop at doing the same to a newly constructed one? I think not. Consideration to shelving the project altogether should be seriously considered by our governing elected officials or, at least, put Furlow School on the back burner for reconstruction?
Presently, we only have a simple basic health care facility incapable of meeting local and regional health care delivery and its demanding requirements. These funds would be put to a much more severe need we now do not have at all. By giving priority to a much more critical need, health care delivery, Sumter Regional may not get the entire amount of money needed. But, they would at least get half the amount requested and by the same token, our elected officials would be giving good faith support to a valuable industry.
We have Lowe's and Ruby Tuesday opening up shop real soon. We need a great deal more industry and business to bring our local economy back to prominence as it once was. Without adequate health care we can see nothing happening on the industrial and business forefront for our community.
So, commissioners, rethink your decisions about allocating SPLOST funds. The vote has yet to be taken and serious prioritization is urgently needed.
Larry D. Deriso
Americus
As a citizen of Sumter County I was extremely disappointed to read that the county commissioners voted unanimously to not include Sumter Regional Hospital as a SPLOST project. The inside editorial of the paper was correct in all the things it highlighted.
We in Sumter County are living in a post-tornado world in which our local hospital was drastically affected. The apparent short- sighted vision of the county commissioners is perhaps another nail in the coffin of this already economically depressed area. A reordering of SPLOST priorities seems to be appropriate to the average citizen of this county.
Monetary support for the rebuilding of the hospital would seem to be a case in which the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. To think that $4-plus million and another $1-plus million will be used for the renovation of two old school buildings is beyond belief. Never mind that these renovations would contribute little if anything economically to this area!
Perhaps the commissioners have information that the public is unaware of that resulted in their unanimous decision to deny the request of the hospital. If so, please let the public know what that information is. If not, the commissioners need only to look in the mirror if this community fails to bounce back to be a better community than it was before the March 1 tornado.
I ask the commissioners to reconsider the SPLOST request of the hospital for the sake of the community.
Ladelle Smith
Americus
The recent outpouring of unquestioning support for Sumter Regional Hospital is a great expression of support for our community. However, I've started to wonder if things have been presented in an over-simplified way to work our emotions and avoid our natural questions. Perhaps by directing all our ire at the County Commission, we are being misled.
Does anyone remember when the hospital was run by a working Hospital Authority that held open meetings and was publicly accountable? And do we remember how they set up a series of inter-related corporations, foundations, boards and other entities to avoid public oversight of their activities, especially review of top executive salaries? This happened under our previous hospital chief executive but set the stage for where we are today.
The hospital authority still exists and still has the ability to obtain and issue bonds to pay for construction, capital improvements, etc. Why haven’t they done so? Is there something wrong with their investment rating that we haven't been informed of? As I understand it, the hospital, both through its non-public operating board and through the authority, didn't hand in their SPLOST request until a month after the deadline. Why? Why did they think the deadline applied to other folks but not to them?
The hospital has not demanded payment on their property insurance and has not requested assistance from the state Insurance Commissioner's office to force payment to help pay for their rebuilding efforts. Why is that?
Rees Park school and the Furlow school buildings are projects requested by the City of Americus, not our county commissioners. Is Americus willing to give up SPLOST funding for those projects? What is Americus willing to do to keep a hospital inside the city limits? As a resident of the city, I am willing for them to bulldoze the Rees Park and Furlow school buildings. But which other towns are willing to give up SPLOST funding for which of their projects? The county commission’s projects appear to be mostly road improvements that may be necessary for our economic development.
Is it that the hospital, like most of us, wants free money? The difference is that the rest of us would have to pay for it through our increased sales taxes and decreased funding available for other public projects? They, through the hospital authority, have the equivalent of a money printing press that they could choose to start up at any time. Why isn’t now, or last month for that matter, an appropriate time?
Think about it. Think about how our information appears to have been managed and what questions aren’t being asked or are being discouraged from being asked.
Tom McFarland
Americus
