TSPLOST: A shell game?

MDJonline.com published my letter to the editor concerning the proposed Transportaion Investment Act Referendum (aka TSPLOST). The vote will tak place in the 10 county metro Atlanta district. It is esimated to cost taxpayers more than $6 billion in 10 years.

Dear Editor:

Cobb Chairman Tim Lee’s new proposal to make the transportation sale tax referendum more palatable by reducing the amount ear marked for a rail line from Fulton County to Cobb by $300 million is nothing more than a shell game, a magic trick.

The hand is faster than the eye!

So now he claims they can build the 13 mile rail line for $500 million? The truth is once this tax is approved there is nothing in the Transportation Investment Act that will enforce the project list.

Once they have the money they can do what they want with it. They can shift the money at will. They can move cash from one county to another and there is nothing we can do about it.

They cite the fact that a citizen’s review panel will be empanelled to oversee the projects. But will you trust their hand picked cronies? Local projects can be deemed “infeasible” and may never be completed.

This is not a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The few SPLOST enforcement rules do not apply here. A copy of the TIA law is posted at www.TSPLOST.info. Read it for yourself.

With Cobb being a key to approving the district tax, Lee’s proposal is an attempt to salvage the TIA referendum and perhaps his own political career!

Mr. Lee forgot to say “Abracadabra!”



James Bell

Director

The Georgia Taxpayers Alliance, Inc.

Lithia Springs

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Lee’s latest TSPLOST proposal a shell game