Letter to the Editor
Local man upset with Polk County Commissioners following LOST lawsuit
The Polk County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 26, 2012, entered into a contractual agreement with the cities of Aragon, Cedartown and Rockmart, to provide taxpayer funds for recreational purposes for the three cities, as part of the 2012 Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) renegotiation.
Aragon, unlike Cedartown and Rockmart, had to request the amount of financial assistance. Following a recreational needs assessment, in April 2013, the Mayor of Aragon sent a letter requesting funds to the Board of Commissioners. The mayor’s request was subjected to interpretation by a committee, in violation of the agreement.
Mayor Ken Suffridge of Aragon objected to the action, point out the violation of the Board of Commissioners. On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, Commissioner Marshelle Thaxton responded to the mayor in a public meeting: “If you don’t like what we are doing, take us to court!”
Soon after that meeting, the city of Aragon filed suit in Superior Court against the Board of Commissioners, for breaching the agreement, by not providing public funds for recreational purposes, and in accordance with the agreement.
On Sept. 18, 2014, the city of Aragon won their argument at the pretrial mediation hearing and the city will receive their funding, as agreed to through negotiations.
The arrogance of Commissioner Thaxton and the unanimous support from the five commissioners: Jason Ward, Bill Coker, Ray Barber, Philip Bentley and Stefanie Drake Burford caused additional taxpayer funds to be spent on legal fees and court time, in the middle of a recession, while the board were raising property taxes on all property owners in Polk County to balance their budget.
The board of commissioners must be reminded by all property owners, within our three cities, pay Polk County property taxes and vote in all county and city elections. All property owners must be treated with concern and respect and address their needs on a professional basis. Arrogance must be replace with a spirit of cooperation that will benefit all of Polk County.
Only the voters can fix this problem and send a strong message to the board of commissioners. -Bill Byrne Rockmart, Ga.