Dear Editor,

The goal of the Pickens County Taxpayers Association (PCTA) is to bring to light any and all issues concerning taxes and property rights in Pickens County. There are members who attend most, if not all, of the public meetings in the county. We talk to members of local government, seeking information about county operations. Sometimes we use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information that’s hard to get. I’m not implying that all of our local representatives are bad. Many want what’s good for the county; some have a personal agenda.

There are two or more sides to every issue. We need new schools, but should we circumvent the law and constitution to get tax money to build them? We need to attract new businesses, but should we use tax money to purchase land to give to those new businesses? Should we make new businesses tax exempt in order to entice them to come here? Who pays the taxes they’re not paying? Do costs outweigh benefits? Should a new Development Standards Ordinance be enacted without everyone knowing what’s in it? Are there hidden agendas? The PCTA would like for taxpayers to know how the county conducts business and spends tax money.

There are elitists who would like to paint the PCTA in a negative light. Their message is: our taxes are low, trust the local government, and we shouldn’t mind paying more. They’re seldom at public meetings and they present half the facts when making a point. One morning I hope to pick up a newspaper with this headline: “Wealthy Taxpayers Contribute $10 Million To Help Tax Shortfall in Pickens County”. If people like Mr. Gibson would like to voluntarily pay extra taxes, we’re OK.with that. Maybe that would help the folks who use their last social security check of the year to pay their taxes. In the meantime, we’ll continue to report the “negative” stuff.

Jimmy Gillespie

Central, SC