A blog post from: http://douglas-neighbor.com/detail/146694.html

By scottj

Citizens of Douglasville,

Last year I remember being in one of the SPLOST public hearings and a woman stood up in the meeting. She was vocal about Dave Ramsey's no debt philosophy and how we, as a community, were making a tragic decision with the massive debt being proposed in the SPLOST referendum.

We all realize that everything can't be purchased with cash, especially in a government environment, yet fiscal responsibility is and always will be appropriate. People thought this woman was crazy. I hope today she gets some gratification for speaking her mind.

If the $166,000,000 ($166 MILILON!!!) SPLOST had passed, Douglasville citizens would be strapped with debt, and possibly facing bankruptcy in the near future, ...

as Mayor Thompson himself today in the Douglasville Neighbor states "Sales taxes, which represent 25 percent of the General Fund budget, are down 18% from the same periods of the previous year".

Few people will ever think about the near catastrophic consequences had the SPLOST passed, and Mayor Thompson would certainly never acknowledge how fortunate the community is that this huge debt burden was not taken on (which was to be paid 100% by future sales tax revenues with an estimated GROWTH rate of 4% per year. Compare this to negative 18% growth this year).

You, citizens of Douglasville, would have been heavily taxed in an attempt to even come close to meeting the debt service of this huge commitment. So to the citizens of Douglasville who were willing to vote and stand up against excessive, unnecessary, inappropriate debt, and thank you.

Our children thank you.

We have avoided the ugly situation that many local governments find themselves in today.

We may not have everything we want, but we have everything we need....and more!

We are blessed.