The People rise and sign

Taxpayers turn out to protest, petition county rate hike

During a protest Thursday evening in front of the Historic Courthouse in downtown Monroe, Mataya Parson of Monroe (center) encourages everyone to sign the petition being circulated asking members of the Walton County Board of Commissioners to hold a special meeting to rescind the recently-approved property tax increase. Photo credit: Patrick Graham | The Tribune

They drifted in slowly at first, one or two here, a half dozen here. They carried signs, emblazoned with slogans and caricatures and rallying cries, all of them angry and defiant.

But in no time at all, a crowd of a dozen had turned into 50, then 100. Soon a couple hundred people were crowding the sidewalk along Broad Street in front of the Walton County Historic Courthouse, united by a single cause.

They want lower taxes.

The continued public struggle over the recent millage increase passed by the Walton County Board of Commissioners — which saw the county millage rate shoot up nearly 20% — had already seen social media catch fire with local ire, but on Thursday night, hundreds took to the streets to express their anger publicly.

The crowd demanded the county call a special meeting to rescind the recent millage rate hike, and organizers passed around petitions for people to sign urging the commissioners to take action before it’s too late.

“Last call for signing the petition is Monday at noon,” Gareth Fenley, the petition coordinator for the protest, said. “We want the commissioners to have time to take action.”

The protestors are trying to force a meeting before Sept. 1, the final deadline for the county to submit its millage rate to the state, at which point the tax rate is sealed in stone until next fiscal year. The petition, while not binding, is designed to express the extent of that desire.

“It’s not just an online petition, this is pen on paper,” Fenley said. “The commissioners will be fully aware there are thousands of people in this effort. It’s all individuals with different perspectives. The people are going to extra lengths. It’s a really big deal.”

Madolyn Cole, of Loganville, was one of the people who dropped by the protest and added her name to the petition.

“I’ve been a Walton County resident for 31 years and I’ve never had them gouge us this way,” Cole said. “It’s not a reasonable tax increase. I agree with one of the signs I saw here, our homes are not their ATMs.”

While county Chairman David Thompson — or “Terrible Thompson” as many signs called him — was not in attendance, nor any of the commissioners, Walton County public information officer Ben Hammond was there to see the protest and chat with protestors.

“We will always appreciate when citizens get involved in local government,” Hammond said. “We’re glad to see individuals express their desires on how the government is run.”

Hammond said he wished they’d gotten involved earlier in the process, though.

“We had maybe 15 people come out to our budget hearings back in May,” Hammond said. “We’d rather see this earlier than later.”

Hammond said he was there to correct misconceptions and misinformation spread by some in opposition to the new millage rate.

“It’s more complicated than just a 20% increase,” Hammond. “We’re trying to educate people on that. The average actual increase on people’s tax bills will be about $20 a year.”

Yet the chants went on, imploring commissioners to reverse the tax hike before it’s too late. The protesters aren’t done yet.