Letter to the Editor: Angry yet?

Published 10:45 pm Tuesday, November 17, 2015

How high must tax increases go before we become outraged? Is $100 million over four years enough? That’s the increased tax burden that Whitfield County taxing authorities have either passed or promoted. A county homeowner with a $200,000 house now pays $320 a year more due to an 80 percent property rate increase. Dalton city taxpayers, who receive no county services, now pay 56 percent of the property taxes that fund county public works, sheriff’s patrol services, recreation and administration.

Consider Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Babb’s comments when asked about the city’s subsidies for county services. He noted that the county tax rate increase of 1 mill this year will raise $2.2 million and that the county lost $3 million due to renegotiation of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST). He did not mention that prior tax increases have swelled the county’s revenue stream by $7 million. Why is the county still bleeding red ink when so many people are paying higher taxes for services they do not receive?

It’s interesting that Chairman Babb also mentioned the $1.9 million per year in economic development costs borne by taxpayers. IVC, a foreign-owned company, got millions in tax abatements in return for providing mostly low-wage jobs. It’s hard to understand how increasing taxes on local citizens in order to reduce taxes on a corporation whose profits flow to a foreign country creates wealth in our community. This is not economic development. This is what Third World countries do.

Dalton citizens are paying higher taxes for services not received. All county taxpayers are paying higher taxes to fund crony capitalism. Whitfield County lost $122 million in manufacturing payroll between 2002 and 2012. The economic recovery remains weak, and yet more county tax increases are likely due to deficit spending. What is our plan going forward to get us off the fast track to becoming a Third World community?

David Pennington

Dalton

Editor’s note: Despite Pennington’s assertion that city residents do not receive county services, city residents have access to the Whitfield County Health Department, Whitfield County parks, Whitfield County roads and other county services.