Over the last four years I have grown to distrust Peachtree City government, and in particular, the governance of Brown, Rapson, and Weed.

It took me two decades to conclude what made Peachtree City great. Why was this the place I chose to begin married life, start and raise a family, and buy my cemetery plot? We aren’t near the ocean, on Lake Lanier, or in the mountains. We don’t have a Six Flags Over Georgia or a Whitewater to amuse ourselves. There’s no Stone Mountain, Fox Theater, or Alliance Arts Center and Museum here.

It has been the people who have made Peachtree City special. We were different. We were proud. We had a common vision and a common goal, and we worked together to achieve them. We weren’t perfect, and no one expected us to be. As long as our intentions were good, there was cooperation between the public sector, the private sector, and our community as a whole.

Then along come Brown, Rapson, and Weed. They have installed their people in our city management. They have installed their people in our Development Authority. They thought this would be the way to control this supposedly independent organization. Now the Development Authority is dysfunctional, and disrespected. At least this independent organization is controlled by Brown, Rapson, and Weed, though. Rapson’s previous campaign manager now chairs this organization.

I believe the Tourism Association is a fraud. At least this independent organization is controlled by Brown, Rapson, and Weed also. They have appointed themselves and the people they’ve hired to city positions to act as its board of directors. Rapson even got to play the role of chairman of this independent organization. Weed is starring in that role now, with backup casting by our city manager and city finance director. They even keep the books of this independent organization on our city computers with the assist of our city staff.

Who can forget Rapson’s inability to represent us with his vote during the long, drawn-out period while his wife was engaged in failed, legal proceedings against the Development Authority? You have to at least question how badly the finances of the Development Authority were jeopardized during these three failed attempts by Rapson. It was to the extent of $100,000.

Then we had to listen to the Development Authority being trashed because their expenses exceeded their revenues by $60,000. Next thing you know we’re having to run out and spend $90,000 for professional advice in an attempt to rewrite the appalling, and ridiculously erroneous charter and by-laws of the Tourism Association.

Who can forget the call for city staffers to come up with any and all new ways to generate tax, either by increasing rates or devising new taxes? Who missed the subtlety of self-laudatory comments that taxes were going to be “raised” to a lesser amount than what the starting point of the increase was to be?

Don’t be confused by housing appreciation, or by millage rates. Just look at the bottom line. Peachtree City taxes on my home have gone up 43 percent since Brown, Rapson, and Weed were elected. This was during the same period that our country underwent a recession, a crippling stock market correction, and a call to arms. I propose these are not the people you’d want to be handling your financial affairs.

We need to “eradicate the Brown-Rapson weed,” and we need to do it now. If we can’t govern ourselves effectively, we can’t expect cooperation from other governments, whether they are local, state, or federal.

This is Peachtree City’s call to arms. You must vote. No one can do this for you. We’ve been waiting for this moment in history for three years, since we became aware of our problem. The recall effort never got off the ground, with people instead choosing to wait for the 2005 election. Ethics charges weren’t filed and lawsuits weren’t pursued. Everyone deferred to the quick lapse of time, and the arrival of the 2005 election, when we could politely and in a dignified manner express our dissatisfaction.

The 2005 election is next week. With few exceptions, there is nothing more important for a registered voter of Peachtree City to do next Tuesday. Control of our city government needs be returned to our citizens.

After this election, we already know that Brown, Rapson, and Weed appointees will permeate nearly all the positions of management in our city government, the Development Authority, and the Tourism Association. The coup d’etat would be the elimination of our system of checks and balances, which occurs if Brown and Rapson are reelected to city council.

According to the government census, Peachtree City has the most educated population in the state of Georgia. This election should be a no-brainer. We have a clear opportunity to make a change for the better. There is one lingering question that remains an enigma for Peachtree City. Do we really care?

Bill King
Peachtree City, Ga.

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