Early vote turnout moderate so far

Nov. 13– The Hardin County Election Commission reports 97 voters cast ballots in person yesterday on the first day of the early voting period for the one cent sales tax referendum.

As of this morning, a total of 154 ballots had been cast, including mail-in absentees, nursing homes and military, according to Hardin County Election Commission Administrator Marilyn Adams.

In the last county-wide election, in November 2008, 252 ballots were cast on the first day of early voting, she said.

As a result of a petition drive by Concerned Citizens For Community Schools, a grassroots group opposed to the ongoing school consolidation project, voters are going to the polls to decide if the local option sales tax rate should be reduced from the current 2.5 percent, to 1.5 percent.

Funds generated by the county’s 1 percent local option sales tax are currently being used for new school construction and facility upgrades.

Local government–the Savannah and county commissions–joined by the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce, oppose cutting the sales tax rate, contending it will result in city and county property tax rate increases.

The Concerned Citizens group says school and county officials broke their word when they recently abandoned a 1997 plan using the sales tax proceeds that did not involve closing five older, smaller elementary schools.

Concerned Citizens argues reducing the sales tax rate to its pre-1997 level will help "rein in rogue government."

The election commission office in the basement of the county courthouse in Savannah is open today from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Early voting resumes Monday with those same hours. The last day to vote early in the Dec. 1 countywide special election is Nov. 25.