About 80 opponents of a proposed transportation sales tax came out to voice their opposition during a Savannah Tea Party rally at Lake Mayer Thursday.
Speakers such as Savannah Tea Party co-founder Marolyn Overton criticized the 1-percent tax proposal as an unnecessary burden that needs to be voted down when is goes before voters on July 31. Instead of raising taxes, the government should cut back on spending, Overton said.
“Tell the government to stop spending money they don’t have,” she said.
Locals, as well as residents of Glynn and Camden counties, attributed their opposition to their distaste for an increased tax burden and their distrust of government.
Savannah resident Ed Hale said he thought taxes are high enough without adding to them, while Gail Baxley, another local, said that government officials are not doing a good job of managing the funds they already have.
“I don’t want to give more money to be mismanaged,” Baxley said.
The law states that the 10-year tax can only be extended by voters, as the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax has been, but opponents such as Ormond “O.C.” Fowler said the tax would end up being extended indefinitely.
“Once it gets in, they’ll find excuses for other projects,” Fowler said.
Speaker Jeff Kilgore said the sales tax was the wrong way to fund transportation projects.
“The trucker who damages the roads is going to pay zero if we pass this,” Kilgore said.
The event also served as a fundraiser for the opposition group. Kilgore said funds were needed to counter the ads promoting the tax.
“If you can’t help us, we can’t get the word out,” Kilgore said.
The rally did not focus solely on the transportation tax. Featured speaker Don Hodges spoke out against Agenda 21, which he characterized as a international attempt to impose United Nations’ environmental regulations on cities throughout the country.
“It is a socialist, communist takeover of America,” Hodges said.