“VOTE NO NEW SALES TAX” I Guess

October 15, 2021

If you’re anything like me, you have a nose, two ears, some hair, teeth, lips, a beautiful body, and two eyes that can read things. And with these two eyes, you’ve probably been driving your beautiful body around Coweta County and have noticed not one, not two, heck, not even three, but A LOT of yard signs with the following phrase: VOTE NO NEW SALES TAX along with the election date.

Now, if you’re also anything like me (with your beautiful two-eyed body), you don’t immediately know what the signs mean but you do know, “I ain’t want no new sales tax up in this biatch!” Hopefully you talk a little bit better than I do, but alas, we can’t guarantee that.

In truth, it is not easy to find information on these signs. Who made them? When did they go up? Why not a new sales tax? Is it even a new sales tax? Is it even true at all?! Are signs even real?!?!

These questions and many more have run through my head regarding these signs, so I spent upwards of thirty minutes on Google, Facebook, and The Newnan-Times for any information on the what, the who, and the why.

And?

You can find a very short “Letter to the Editor” on our county’s own Newnan Times-Herald that basically says:

“This is a lie.”
Bill Boyd

But what’s WAY more fun is what you find when you pop over to Sharpsburg Mayor Blue Cole’s Facebook Page:

So… Another day, another auto blast to area voters. What they are not telling you: 1.) This tax is optional. Unlike property taxes, you *do not* have to pay it. (The… ‘Local Option’ part of it.)2.) This money is used to build, improve, or repair facilities or equipment. So every penny stays Coweta county. 3.) Instead of voting NO, you could drive to PTC, Hville, to avoid a .01 tax and save $400. 4) Visitors pay this as well, not just Coweta residents and property owners. 5) this is about their power, not your money
Blue Cole

They’ve already lied to you about the school system once. They are doing it again. This is not a new tax. This is not a tax increase. This .01 (a single cent) has been used effectively FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS to help make Coweta County one of the best places to live and work in the nation. What happens if you vote no? The school system will lose the income stream that helps them build facilities. That means replacing the money from other funds… So other, internal, programs will be cut. Class sizes will go up. Teacher pay stays flat. Benefits may shrink. I don’t know what will happen… But if you remove $xx million from a budget, it has to come from somewhere. But no, let’s take away something that’s worked for decades. Let’s not offer a viable alternative. Let’s just wave signs and stir up s— because it makes us feel … Special? If you truly feel you have a better way, show me. Sit your butt down and write a budget. We do it every year… Surely you can do better. I double dog dare you. Complaining without offering a solution is whining.
Blue Cole

But we aren’t here for the FACTS that Blue Cole is so generously handing us. I say to thee, nay! We are here to offer some possible things this pretend new sales tax is going to. Here is our list of 10 Things the “Totally Real New Sales Tax Will Fund”: