Many of the problems built up over the years in Habersham County are interconnected.
There have been plenty of recent debates about what the county’s largest priority should be, ranging from the jail to the landfill to the hospital.
Taxes have gone up this year in the county and all the municipalities, and property owners have shown they are fed up with the increases.
There are questions about our long-term future. How will we fix these issues? It is one thing to say it will cost money to accomplish our goals, but where will the money come from?
Habersham County citizens do not want more heavy financial burdens on their backs, so one has to wonder what is the key.
We have talked for years about the importance of economic and industrial development to increase our commercial tax base, and it is the emphasis we must have going forward into 2023 and beyond. A focus also must remain on helping our existing business and industry expand while constantly putting effort and energy into workforce development.
Our water-sewer infrastructure has to be built up, and that has to be a partnership between our municipalities.
We must get our tax digest where it needs to be.The ongoing investigation by the state into our assessments will help point us in the right direction.
We will not be able to climb out of the financial hole our jail, hospital and landfill have put us in without collaboration and seeing the long-term picture.
We cannot write a check or plunge further into debt to solve these issues. It will take a while to reach the end, but it will take everyone being on the same page to get there. And you’re right, this will be a tall task.
Transparency, mutual aid, vision for the future – these are the things it will take to make it. If we battle against ourselves or let petty politics get in the way of the process, we will fail, and our community will pay the price.
Winston Churchill once said, “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” We also must remember we cannot borrow ourselves out of debt.
This is a community commitment from our residents, our business leaders and our elected officials. Everyone has a stake in ensuring Habersham County prospers and continues to be a place our children want to call home.