This coming Tuesday, Augustans must vote "yes" to continue the special purpose local option sales tax. Passing SPLOST, Nov. 8 will ensure the growth of the metro Augusta area. Defeating it will cause immediate negative effects and have a long-term impact - and it will take us years to catch up.

SPLOST is not a new tax. It is part of our 7 percent sales tax, and means for every dollar we spend, one penny helps pay for vital local projects. Augustans and others have been paying a 7 percent sales tax for 20 years; passing SPLOST just allows that to continue. Because it is part of the sales tax, it also allows others to share in some of the costs of those needed projects. Forty percent of the money collected in SPLOST is generated by people living outside of Augusta. It only makes sense to let them contribute to maintaining our roads and share in some of our expenses.