The Sins of Their Fathers

Opinion

What would you think if I suggested that if someone passes away their debts would have to be paid by their children? How about if someone dies in prison, we lock up their kids to finish their sentence? Sound unfair? Well that is exactly how government finances work.The insane level of spending that has gone on for years and recently escalated will be a real debt we pass on to future generations and will eventually have to be paid by someone other than ourselves. People seem to think that government debt isn’t real, or they just don’t care, but it can come due sooner than you think.
Gilmer County is a prime example of this type of “generational theft”. In late 2002 the voters approved 8 million dollars for a new courthouse. In early 2005 a small group of people decided that wasn’t enough. Their “crystal ball” told them that the economy was no longer cyclical and that Gilmer was going to grow forever! So, ignoring the voters will, ignoring historical patterns, and abandoning common sense they maneuvered around the 8 million by creating the Gilmer County Building Authority and spent 30 million dollars. The appointed Board members were Max Holstein, Hubert Parker, and Ken Bailey.
Now just 6 years later we have a Courthouse that is more than half empty and costs close to a $1 million dollars each year just to keep the lights on and the place cleaned up. We also have a more than $2 million dollar payment each year. The local economy continues to contract with no growth in sight and the population is actually declining. That crystal ball must have been made in China because it was dead wrong.
So guess who’s paying for it? We all are, especially the kids. Putting all the GO Bond money that was squandered aside, if they had stuck to $8 million dollars the Courthouse would be paid for. That would leave us with more than $2 million in sales tax revenues for capital improvements EVERY SINGLE YEAR. The Clear Creek gym would be finished and so would the ball fields. Repair of the swimming pool would not be an issue. We would have the flexibility to make more improvements as the needs arose. The kids of Gilmer County are out of luck for years to come because of the decisions of a few that just knew they were smarter than the voters.
But there is more. An $8 million dollar Courthouse would be smaller than the Mega mall we wound up with but more than adequate for our needs. It would also cost less than half to keep up with saving about $500,000 a year. The Board of Commissioners started charging to dump garbage over a $167,000 shortfall that would not have existed had the voter’s wishes been honored. So every time you put a dollar in the lockbox at the convenience centers, thank Max and the boys!
Unfortunately, the damage is far from over. The Courthouse debt combined with the $30 million dollar GO Bond that was spent on a bunch of things we don’t really need leaves us over $90 million dollars in debt, including interest. Surrounding counties that we compete with for growth didn’t make the same mistakes, making them a much more attractive place to live. The debt is real though and has to be paid leaving us with a higher tax burden for us AND our kids. Sad, but very true.

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