Dear Mr. Paquin:
Thanks for the response but I will have to disagree with you. First, the median is the middle income and we agree on that as a fact provided by the census bureau. However the average is a different number for sure. For purposes of the “out of county calculator” we put on our website, we assume an average gross income of $90,000 for the 36,000+ Fayette household. There is no official statistic to determine that number so we may have different assumptions there. You talk of fairy tales but offer no support for your assumptions.

But part of the assumption base would be to eliminate “outliers” in the statistical base. Mr. Holyfield does well as do Reverend Dollar, and Tim Hudson of the Atlanta Braves; however, they are not the “average” Fayette Citizen. In fact we have a stratified sample set as we have one group that has two earners, one group with one earner, retired fixed income, and so on. Therefore getting to the truly average Fayette Citizen household can be a challenge. We can grasp at straws or we can pick something to use as a benchmark. I chose the median as the ONLY agreed upon statistic.

That is why I offered each person a way to determine their individual E-SPLOST impact. After starting at their gross income they must deduct the following to determine their own E-SPLOST impact.
• Income Tax
• Payroll Tax
• Benefit Payments
• 401k / retirement plan
• Alimony
• Money invested each month
• Flexible Spending taken from payroll
• Housing payment ( mortgage, rent)
• Utilities Payment
• Student Loan Payment
• Existing Car Payment
• Day Care Payment
• Medical Co-Payment
• Money spent outside of Fayette County – If it is in GA
you already pay E-SPLOST on that money!
• Money spent on the internet – Not usually taxed
= This equals money that may be subject to an E-SPLOST IF YOU SPEND IT IN FAYETTE COUNTY. When you compare the amount possibly subject to E-SPLOST divided by gross income what percentage did you come up with? Most people who have done this calculation come up with a ratio less than 40%. This provides another guide to estimate with. Without solid statistical data all we can do is estimate.

Now to be clear, I know Mumford called me a financial planner and I let that go, but I actually do corporate financial planning which is forecasting, budgeting, and analysis. My undergrad is in accounting and master’s is in taxation. I have made a career of working with budgets the size of FCBOE and larger. The numbers I presented where an illustration not absolute.

You are correct that cars are subject to the E-SPLOST. If you are leasing, the sales tax is based on the value of the lease and if you purchase the tax is based on the value of the car. Now there are some Mercedes around, but lots and lots of minivans which can run around $30,000 nicely equipped. The E-SPLOST for the minivan would be $300 which is $5/ month if you finance over 60 months which is your typical financial arrangement.

In closing Mr. Paquin I appreciate your comparison. I have enjoyed the Simpsons since they were part of the Tracey Ullman show. Ned Flanders is a man who believes in God and in helping his community, so I can live with that. I believe we can be positive and respectful while discussing our various positions on this issue.

In my career I have earned a reputation as a tough budget cutter who will develop and deliver the facts to make the necessary decisions. But I have always stood up for what I believe is right. I believe it is in the best interest of the county to decide to use an E-SPLOST like 175 of 178 school systems have already done to continue to fund the Fayette Advantage.

Have a Blessed Day
Neil Sullivan
Co-Chair Fayette Citizens for Children
www.yesfayetteESPLOST.org

Funny how Claude's figures don't look at the value of his home over his x years of homeownership.

In six years, his home value has grown from $240K to $340K. Right now he pays no school taxes but when he taps a home equity loan or sells his house, he'll no doubt reap the benefits of our awesome schools!!!

Were a sales tax imposed, Claude would have to cough up a few hundred bucks a year. So his vested interest is in seeing the sales tax denied.

Fortunately there are a lot of other folks his age not so easily fooled. They sacrificed to educate their kids and they don't mind making sacrifices to help the next generation.

As much of a long shot it is, I sincerely hope voters approve the SPLOST for the furtherance of today's students, mine included!

and that is really none of anyone's business. My wife, kids and I live in a great neighborhood with high homes prices and steady sales. My family is just leary of paying higher taxes that the current school board would be in charge of. Fayette County has had 8 years of this school board, and where did it get the County? You can't tell me the school board is the reason that our students do well. I think our students do well because they are motivated, they have wonderful teachers and parents that help the kids succeed. This school board has wasted tax payer money. I voted NO on SPLOST and my wife and I wrote in Nicole's name.

If our schools maintain excellence, we will reap the property value benefits.

If the schools start to decline, you and I will pay the price.

I understand this type of advanced financial thinking may be beyond your means, but I guarantee you we have a bumper crop of kids at our local schools who could explain it to you!

Some of us would rather invest in our kids' future instead of in a bitter campaign that won't hurt the target of your ire (i.e. the FCBOE members).

The connection between good schools ad high property values is indisputable. One only has to look to our neighboring county Clayton and see what is happening there. Even without the mortgage mess, values were decreasing every year since 2003 and that was mostly because of the schools, the administrators, the school board and the voters some of whom were presumably parents of students.

The message - make some incorrect votes about the school system and you'll lose a lot more in property value than a few hundred dollars a year.

Nevertheless, the esplost needs to be defeated if only to teach our educators how to trim fat. Certainly Smola needs to go but a write-in is not going to work.

depending on whose study you choose read/believe.

As per the National Bureau of Economic Research, Schools spending raises property values
"Although potential district residents on average value additional state revenues, the authors find that "large school districts, and those areas with fewer homeowners and in areas in which residents are poor or less educated" are more likely to overspend.

Another paper on the subject questions, Do Good Schools or Good Neighbors Raise Property Values? seems to muddy the water ever more.

My personal belief is that good schools certainly don't hurt property values but statistically it's difficult to prove.

Crime Dogs 1st of many pro Smola post

"Tyrone citizens violated
The aristocracy may be out in Tyrone. Unfortunately they've been replaced by the idiotcracy.

They weren't even sworn into office before they broke their first campaign promises (open government, remember?).

At least the $500 simoleons will have to come out of their checkbooks and not campaign accounts.

Rabid anti-development ways will lead to property tax increases. Bank on it, Tyrone citizens. Just bend over and cough...

the above was a quote of Crime Dogs from the Citizen when Smola lost for Mayor. He thinks the Smolas are aristocracy and we are idiots.

you just seem to follow the Smola's careers from Tyrone to BOE like a little lap dog, or they would themselves.

it is about people who never should have been put in charge of money. Put someone in that is accountable and then we can talk.

It IS about the kids. They will suffer during the budget crisis when media centers, arts, P.E., sports are cut/shrunk along with other electives such as auto shop that are needed for the kids who won't be going to college.

But you're really sticking it to Smola et al!!! NOT! The FCBOE members will not be any worse off personally because the eSPLOST failed.

They are accountable to the voters, BTW. Turns out they passed the accountability test in the primary. If File wins I'll support her but her hidden motives leave much to be desired.

If the BofE were really accountable to voters then why did they go along with the infamous 3 way plan for redistricting that you really pushed? It made no sense, was just warm and fuzzy and cowtowed to just a few voters - not what was best for the county at large. But hey, your children stayed in their little cocoon.

everyone knows you know your stuff. The rest of us are fortunate that you gave us the benefits of your knowledge to help us make our own decisions. I respect you for that.

Everyone today was talking in line about they weren't going to vote SPLOST or the other goofy deal of letting the School Board spend money earmarked for our children on land redevelopment.

you give yourself away, and dwell on the past. But since you brought it up, let me remind you some ran in Tyrone without a web site. They ran on their reputation of honesty and fairness. If there is not enough on Nicole's web site to please you, then may I sugguest you look at the two women's tract record.

Besides being honest and trustworthy, she has small children in the system. She has also stressed many times she is about accountablilty and using what we have wisely. She came to the debate ready to answer hard questions and sling a lot of them back at Smola but Smola's SPOLST people hogged the time so it never got to that. Some say Smola looked relieved.

small children need small, neighborhood schools. So do their parents. As children get older, you can put them in larger,more far flung schools. But not while they are wee folk.

What is wrong with remodeling existing schools in populated areas? And as growth comes to the cow pastures, then put in the schools for them. Also, let the developers and their clients, {new homeowners], foot the bill.

The school I attended as a child was built in the 40s. When I was there, we had old water pipe heating. Today that school is still in use and is the best school in the county, and by far the prettiest. It has been remodelled many times and just gets prettier. Because the old site is used, all the money is lavished on the latest bells and whistles. I don't see anyone trashing Harvard, or Yale and rebuilding somewhere down the road in a cow pasture.

Building in empty cow pastures, away from populated areas does no good for our children, and no good for their parents. These schools seems to have been build with others priorities above ours.

She is about being accountable for the taxpayers money and where and when the schools go in. She is about being a voice for us and accountable to us. Not about personalized email trees, that address each small groups wants, should they conflict with anothers!

C'mon Suggarfot, you're the File supporter in chief out here.

Tell us why the SPLOST and Issues sections of her website are under construction!!!

She seems to have no answers for the future, only criticisms of the past. There are far more problems ahead of us than anything behind us.

Specifically what programs and personnel would she cut? Guess she's mum for fear of alienating voters, kind of like she's accusing the incumbents re the SPLOST vote.

a lot of answers out there soon. A lot you wish were never posted.

If she can't update her own website, how can we depend on her to air the alleged BOE secrets?

Running out of time Suggar babe! Better get your candidate to step it up online, lest the rumor mill take over.

why don't you just run on along till your boss prints why she bought land for a elm, middle and high school, then sold the land for the high school to a developer who put a subdivsion on it? Why don't you just ask her why she then turned around and bough land down the road from a developer for a high school?

she is all busy with Nov 12 in Fayette county. To answer the charges of assault, attempted battery, filing a false police report and creating a false imprisonment.

Ms Smola and Mr Smola have retained Jonathan Wade as their defense lawyer.

she has those little personalized, specialized, emails for each of you. Someone is digging around on their old computer in the basement for one they have from about two years ago. Something about SPLOST and votes and having to go to Sandy Creek!

drum up your smola support elsewhere, and your e-splost too.
you couldn't be any more obvious that you are closely tied into the FCBOE

It really doesn't matter about what she posts online or what she says or doesn't say!!! ANYONE is better than who is in there now!

GO NICOLE!!