Opinions for county’s future clash
Gilmer candidates for the Board of County Commissioners debated Tuesday, April 28, over issues facing the county.
This year, there are races for both the Board of Commissioners Chairman and Post Two Commissioner seat.
About 200 people showed up to the Gilmer County GOP Commissioner Candidates Forum to hear the candidates debate with the assistance of a moderator.
Incumbent Chairman Charlie Paris and former journalist Doug Rink are both running for the position of chairman.
Their debate covered several topics.
Paris highlighted his success in improving the county’s financial standing while keeping taxes on homes low.
Rink called for subcommittee meetings to be to be opened to the public as a transparency measure.
Other debate topics included apartment housing and the county’s housing plan.
A dramatic moment came when Paris asked Rink how he planned to pay for the road repair which has been a key element of his campaign.
Rink didn’t give voters an answer on where the money would come from.
“I propose we learn where our roads are strong and where they are weak, and where they’re most in need of attention and prioritize the work,” Rink answered. “And it’s not an original idea to me. I got it from the comprehensive plan.”
“Mr. Rink still didn’t answer the question,” Paris replied.
Both candidates received hearty applause from the audience.
Three candidates debated for the Post Two Commissioner position.
They included Tony Arbucci, Col. Gary Engel and Danny Hall.
Of the three, Engel was the only one who approved of a Transportation Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (T-SPLOST). This sales tax is a way that the county government can collect taxes from those visiting the county.
“Why are only the people in Gilmer County paying for the roads? Why not all the people that are using the roads helping to support it?” Engel asked.
T-SPLOST means that when visitors spend money in the county, they can pay taxes to help fix the roads.
“We’re feeding a bear right now,” Hall said of the T-SPLOST tax. “It’s full. And we need to quit feeding it.”
He argued that the county government is currently spending too much.
“We’re paying enough taxes to this county already. We don’t need a T-SPLOST.” Arbucci said.
Another key issue was housing.
There, the candidates faced a difficult dilemma.
Housing in Gilmer has become extremely expensive. According to Realtor.com, the average Gilmer house costs $500,000. This high price is a heavy burden on residents.
However, building more houses or apartments will make Gilmer less rural and change the county’s small-town sense of itself.
At the same time, regulating zoning to make it hard to build new houses limits peoples’ freedom to use their own property as they see fit.
“We’re no longer a small town,” Arbucci said. “It’s going to grow. We’re going to lose our character.”
This complex web of issues helped form the candidates’ debate over short term rentals.
Arbucci said Gilmer should cap short-term rentals.
Hall said capping short-term rentals wasn’t possible because the county needed them for tax purposes.
Engel said that while the county couldn’t cut short-term rentals, it could be possible to increase the taxes and regulations on them.
Hall said he opposes high-density low-income housing in Gilmer.
Arbucci saw a potential housing solution in the creation of “small homes.”
All three Post Two Commissioner candidates agreed that America is going in the wrong direction, but that Gilmer County was a wonderful place to live.