Now is the time you just say 'no'

Sometimes we have to say no, just like our Augusta Commission said no to the special committee that worked so hard for nine months to make previous SPLOST recommendations - and those recommendations were completely ignored.

Sometimes we just have to say no, just like our commission said no in regard to the recommendations from the special grand jury that met for months and months to outline changes that needed to be made in our local government.

Sometimes we just have to say no, just like the commission's reply to arguments that we need to fire city engineer Teresa Smith and end the huge inefficiencies in her department.

SOMETIMES WE just have to say no, just like the engineering department says to our builders and contractors when they ask if their plans have been approved. This "no" adds thousands of dollars in interest owed on construction loans, and there is a cost associated with lost time.

Sometimes we just have to say no, just like our commissioners when we ask them to please quit abstaining and act in a business-like manner. This "no" cripples our local government, embarrasses us statewide and cost us, the citizens and taxpayers of Augusta, thousands of dollars in inefficiencies.

Sometimes we just have to say no, just like when we asked the commissioners to quit playing the race card during commission meetings. This "no" hurts us.

Sometimes we just have to say no, just like the response that we received from the commissioners when we asked them to please not walk out during a commission meeting.

SOMETIMES WE just have to say no, just like the reply from many of the commissioners who refused to agree with a simple agreement that would have hopefully restored faith in our local government - CSRA Help's "Contract With Augusta."

Just like the commission said no to collecting the $14 million in back taxes and debts owed to the city. A "yes" could have more than balanced the budget, and there would have been no need to go into our emergency reserves.

Sometimes we, as a community, have to say no to the special purpose local option sales tax. We have to say "no," that we are not putting up with these type of actions anymore, "no," we are not letting you embarrass us any longer and "no," we are not going to let you impede economic development.

THUS, AS YOU can clearly see, a "no" vote on SPLOST would not be punitive in nature, but a vote of "no confidence." A "yes" vote for SPLOST would simply throw good money after bad.

How would you vote, considering that many of the commissioners and Mayor Willie Mays have rejected the "Contract With Augusta," considering the commission's gross mismanagement of the $160 million in leftover SPLOST funds, and considering all of the unanswered questions regarding past SPLOST funds that our commission has created?

Do not be blackmailed, fooled or terrorized into endorsing SPLOST. Our consolidated city-county government already has announced tax increases and more dipping into the reserve fund.

When will enough be enough? When will we, as a community, finally have our fill of our local government's actions, abstentions and inefficiencies, and just say "no"?

(Editor's note: The author is the founder of the citizen advocacy group CSRA Help.)