Dear Editor,

None of us like to pay more in taxes, just like none of us want to take that awful-tasting medicine. But sometimes both are necessary in order to keep our quality of life the way we want it. This coming Tuesday, July 31, we get to prescribe our own medicine and in return, get new roadways, new connections, and local transportation repair projects that otherwise there is no funding for.

I know there are a lot of questions out there about the upcoming vote for the new T-SPLOST. It simply gives the voters an option to improve the transportation network through a referendum and this will only continue for a 10-year period. There are specific local projects that have been included in this and they were selected by local officials in a transparent process with public input. Chosen projects were required to have a regional impact. That’s certainly true with the Ports Parkway project. If you think Highway 21 is choked now, just wait a few years until the harbor has been expanded and we see growth between Effingham County and Chatham like we haven’t seen in a long time!  

This money stays here in our own back yard and does not go off to Atlanta. And in addition to the bulk of the money that goes to the “big projects,” another $3 million in discretionary funds will come to the county to use on other local projects like fixing the ash roads problem and other needs. Nobody likes the idea of any other taxes, but we see this as a huge impetus for growth in Effingham County. And with this particular tax, all the tourists that travel I-95 and stop for food and lodging help to pay for our improvements.

I believe that growth and good times are coming back to Effingham County and this is one sure way to prepare for that new growth. I know we’re all still smarting from an economy that did a lot of damage, but we can’t be reactionary if we want to see Effingham out in front of the new growth curve. It’s coming and the T-SPLOST will help us prepare. Please go to the polls and vote “yes” for T-SPLOST.

Rick Lott
Executive Director
Effingham Chamber of Commerce