8/8/2012 - by Mike Sims Blairsville, Ga.
   

The voters have spoken and the Tsplost tax was defeated by a vote count of 63% against on a Statewide level.

I have written many Letters to the Editors of newspapers before the Tsplost tax vote was held. A lot of Newspapers published those letters and I thank you for doing so as a public service to your communities.

I am now asking all voters to consider and ask the Governor to implement, a moratorium on the three Regions in the State, which passed this tax, from collecting any Tsplost tax monies until the legislature meets next year.
I am also asking all voters to contact the Governor, their elected State Reps and State Senators and ask them to make it a priority next year to revisit the Tsplost law, to nullify it and come up with another way to get transportation funds if needed. The Law should be changed and nullified.
If the Legislature and Governor are intent on having this vote again, it should be a Statewide vote, (should have been Statewide to begin with) with a plurality of the State vote deciding the outcome.

If the Governor and the State insists on implementing the tax within those three regions and also implementing the 30% penalty on the other nine regions for matching transportation funds, which voted no; then the only thing left for the voters to consider is whether our elected officials are serving the voters or serving special interest.

The people are tired of taxes, as I have expressed in my Letters to the Editors.

If those who we elect insist on penalizing the Regions who voted no, and now have to pay the 30% penalty of matching funds, the result will be the voters will decide to get newly elected officials into office who will listen to the people. I encourage everyone to write their elected officials from County level to State level.