The hand-picked Facilities Board by Fairfield County administration and County Council is supposedly responsible for Fairfield County, over time, paying back a loan that will represent close to $50 million being paid to justify not letting other counties in the state benefit from projected money to be received from reactors 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station.
No amounts were ever discussed on the loan at any of the open Council meetings and when questions arose, Fairfield County paid Parker Poe Law Firm, the authors of the loan, to explain what led up to the loan and the purpose of said debt the County would face. The attorney could not answer some of the questions posed by the publisher of The Voice newspaper and said he would talk with her after the Council meeting. When confronted after the meeting, he refused to talk with her.
Instead of paying interest on loans, insurance and attorney fees, instead of enriching law firms and paying bond fees, there are other ways Fairfield County could show a need for the fee-in-lieu-of money that will come from the reactors.
What would be wrong with giving the Town of Winnsboro, Town of Ridgeway and Town of Jenkinsville money to improve their services? Fairfield County’s millage rate for taxes could probably be lowered enough that the County as a whole could benefit. New businesses and industries would come in, produce new jobs and workers would want to work and live in Fairfield County because of lower taxes.
A larger work force would increase the student population and our schools could possibly justify receiving a portion of the funds from V.C. Summer also.
J.R. Douglas
Winnsboro