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Compton sets the record straight
REMARKS DELIVERED BY DEE COMPTON
Thursday, June 19, 2008
We have come here today to the Greenwood County Council Chambers to set the record straight.
On Tuesday, my opponent sent out a post-card stating “Dee Compton is Raising our taxes.”
I and my Republican council colleagues standing with me have fought tax increases, and have worked hard to lower the tax burden on our families in Greenwood County.
As a council, we all share in the things we do together. This attack is not just one against me, but distorts the true record of all the fiscal conservatives with whom I have been privileged to serve on council.
Specifically-I have not voted to increase property taxes for the operating budget of Greenwood County. The operating budget is the only thing we as councilmen have complete control over. School budgets are set by school trustees, and they are allowed by law to increase budgets by a percentage each year. Under penalty of law, the County Council is obligated to fund these increases and service the school district’s debt. If we did not, we would violate our oath of office, and plunge the county into lawsuits.
Second-This council, and myself included, passed an accommodations tax. It is a tax on hotel rooms. The tax was requested by hotel owners in the county. However it is not a tax on Greenwood County. The taxpayers of Greenwood do not live in hotel rooms. Rather, it is a tax paid by tourists, who use our services while visiting, and produce revenue that allows council to reduce the tax burden on our property owners. In that sense, it is a tax cut for Greenwood taxpayers.
Third-No one on Greenwood County Council voted for a sales tax, as my opponent has said. In this case, Greenwood County Council allowed the people to decide if they wanted a sales tax, and we voted to put a referendum on the ballot. The people, not us, passed the sales tax referendum overwhelmingly by more than 70%. This was the fairest response to an unfunded federal mandate to repair our dam at Lake Greenwood.
To further set the record straight, these gentlemen here with me today are true fiscal conservatives. Together, we have saved the taxpayers in Greenwood County well over $1 million dollars, by consolidating departments, implementing hiring freezes, and privatizing EMS billing and the animal shelter. I and this council have a clear record of holding the line on property taxes, and I am proud to stand on that record.
Due to this negative untruthful the South Carolina Association of Taxpayers has come to my defense and to the defense of my record on County Council. Please look for a message from the association president Don Weaver in your mail boxes tomorrow.