Friday, June 4, 2004

Commission hopeful says county SPLOST jilts PTC Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown isn’t the only person opposing the recent SPLOST vote from the Fayette County Commission. Sam Chapman, who is running against incumbent county commissioner Peter Pfeifer, said he also questions why the county would circumvent legislation that takes affect July 1 aimed at making the process more equitable for municipalities. The commission voted to have 70 percent of the estimated $116 million in revenue earmarked for county road projects. The remaining 30 percent would be divvied up by the county’s municipalities. "The question is, why is my opponent not for a law based on fairness?” Chapman said. Chapman noted that Peachtree City accounts for 35 percent of the county’s population but officials claim the city will receive far less than its share of the proposed SPLOST, which must be approved in a November referendum by voters before taking affect. “The county commission should not circumvent the new SPLOST law just so they can have the upper hand in the distribution of the tax revenue,” Chapman said. “The new legislation was supported by the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia so I am wondering why the county is unwilling to abide by the new guidelines.” Chapman said one of his goals is to build consensus with all governmental jurisdictions. “The disagreements with the sheriff’s department and Peachtree City should be avoided and we need to work towards making the process fair to everyone,” Chapman said. — John Munford

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