MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — On November 2nd, Monroe County voters will have the option to vote yes or no on approving a one-cent Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or T-SPLOST.
Not everyone in town is happy about this.
"I have never voted for a tax increase in my entire life. I'll be 72 next week, and I'm not fixing to start now," Jerry Crawford said.
Crawford has lived in Monroe County for 28 years, and he says he's never voted for a higher taxes because, "Somehow, they never go away. If you ever vote for one, they never go away. Now is just not a good time to raise taxes on people."
The T-SPLOST will go towards improving the roads in the county.
"I don't know how the roads are in Monroe County because I don't travel all over Monroe County. I travel the roads in my part of the county. I don't have a problem with the road in Monroe County," Crawford said.
According to County Commissioner Eddie Rowland, at least 227 miles of road in Monroe County are in critical need of resurfacing.
If this T-SPLOST is approved, 150 to 175 miles of these will be resurfaced.
"If we just use property taxes, it would cost each household about $158 a year. If we use T-SPLOST, our costs as citizens that do shopping here in Monroe County, this represents our 1% increase, which is only about $75," Rowland said.
Rowland says the county needs to spend money on maintaining the roads now because it could cost more later.
"Bottom line is, our mail carriers, our emergency vehicles, our sheriffs, they all have to travel these roads, too. In order to get them to a point to where they are at your home if you need them, they absolutely have to use those roads," Rowland said.
If the T-SPLOST passes, the county says it should raise about $17 million in revenue, and $14.1 million of these, will go to Monroe County.