Don McKee
Be Responsible: Mr. McKee … you are most certainly entitled to your opinion, but not your own version of the facts. That is exactly what you are doing here with your feeble attempt to prop up the equally wrong ravings of a Representative who consistently shoots his mouth off, without having all of the facts clear. Or is this an orchestrated attempt to intentionally mislead the public by you and others who continue to say or pen falsehoods? You have a duty to explain to readers exactly how the CID’s operate and how they are funded if you are going to write in the paper of record for this county that they are “using tax money” to fund these and other activities of the CID’s. That leads the general public and average reader to believe that their tax dollars are somehow being used to fund the CID. This is not the case.
SG68: I re-read Mr. McKee’s column and nowhere did I see where he said that the CID funding of MAVEN was generated from Cobb County tax dollars. Neither did Rep. Ehrhart. In fact, Mr. McKee plainly states “CIDs raise money by a self-imposed tax on real estate in the districts.” He is correct. The funding that is being used is, in fact, tax money. It flows into the Cobb County tax coffers and then is redistributed to the CID’s.
….the point of their objections is that the CID’s are funding a one sided misinformation campaign conducted by MAVEN. Is it illegal? Probably not. Is it unethical and reprehensible? Yep it is!!
COBBCSI: The light rail system will waste massive amounts of money and only caters to the rich people. What about South Cobb County and west going toward Austell. The only thing that makes any sense is express bus service; buses can move with changing traffic trends, rail is designed to build it and we will make them come and we can dictate where all the high rises will be on the land that the rich people already own. Due to the bad economy traffic has gone down in the Metro Atlanta area. This is just a contractors’, ARC and chamber boondoggle to mug the taxpayers of the Metro Atlanta area. They will take all county governance away for the taxpayer because they know what’s best for you. Sounds like Washington in your backyard brought to you by so-called conservative Republicans, they are in big business’ pocket.
B.S. Group Leader: Where and how does my group apply for a $7 million “fund” to promote our “truths and information?”
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Then I've read the MAVEN materials that show the average consumer will spend $112 on the new tax, but currently spend over $900 each year on a consumer tax (fuel, wear and tear etc while stuck in traffic). That is based on the Texas Transportation Institute that studeies this for a living.
I say all this, because it seems the anti-referendum folks are the ones promoting propaganda and stretching the truth while the pro referendum folks and MAVEN have basically stuck to the facts...
First, funds invested by the CIDs are self imposed fees by private enterprise collected through the tax system, thus no cobb resident pays this tax as it's constantly misreported in the MDJ. The CID is set up to invest these dollars in ways that will build the infrastructure of the CID and surrounding area the projects in the July 31 referendum does this. So, in effect all of our residents benefit by the infrastructure investments by private enterprise rather than by county tax dollars - what a deal!
Investing in MAVEN is neither illegal, unethical or reprehensible. MAVEN materials simply present the facts and just because you disagree with objective, proven facts and data, doesn't make it propaganda if it's true.
To Cobbcsi: this is a perfect example of people reading and believing the REAL propaganda and misinformation out there - and why it's important to be educated on the facts. There is NO LIGHT RAIL in the project list. There is only premium bus rapid transit from midtown to Acworth which it sounds like you are in favor of. So I hope you will vote yes on July 31. There is also nearly $34 million in local funds and projects going into the South Cobb area and Austell and additional funds going to the cities of Powder Springs and Austell.
To BS Group Leader: You create your own entity and raise the money yourself.
If MAVEN was presenting both sides of the issue, pros and cons, then the effort and the funding of the effort would be a legitimate and valuable public service.
However, that is not what is happening here.
Only one side of the TIA issue is being promoted and that side of the issue is being advanced with "hoped for" outcomes, not objective, proven facts and fully vetted data.
I simply want both sides of the issue objectively presented.
I don't know what compelling facts to which you are referring. All I have heard is speculation, fantasy forecasts and wishful projections. No provable, solid facts.
If MAVEN's objective is what they say it is, to educate voters, then they should do that in an even handed way.
Give us the good, with the bad and the ugly. The upside with the downside. The pros with the cons. The ying and the yang.
So that voters can make a fully informed decision at the polls.
What, pray tell, are they so afraid of?
Problem: We have traffic, it is a problem.
Solution: Legislature passed Transportation Improvement Act (TIA) TIA legislation created Regional Roundtables and regional roundtables developed a project list to address regional transportation needs. Voters get to vote on project list in a Regional Transportation Referendum on July 31st.
Option: Voters have the option to vote YES or NO on the referendum.
Outcome: We address our transportation and traffic issues or we don't.
I don't see what is so difficult to understand. You want to hear the good, the bad and the ugly, do the reading, do the research and discover for yourself. That is not the job of the MAVEN Group, their responsibility is to educate.
We have a vote, here is what we will be voting on, excercise your right to vote.