TIFTON — Concerned about recent decisions made by the county, a commission candidate and a resident approached the Tift County Commission with challenges of a lack of communication and accountability.

As the commission opened the floor of the Oct. 4 meeting to public comments, two Tift County residents expressed frustrations with county actions regarding recent events, including negotiations with Tifton about the Local Option Sales Tax.

Rachael Price, a professor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a candidate for District 6 county commissioner, asked if, should LOST be allowed to expire at the end of the year, would commissioners encourage voters to reimpose the sales tax or instate the Homestead Option Sales Tax in its place.

Price also questioned County Commission on its immense fund balance, saying the county has about $30 million in liquid assets and estimating it is enough to pay expenditures for 14 months. She challenged commissioners on why the funds had been allowed to stockpile so much, asking them to provide a reason.

Julie Lester expressed her own frustration with the county’s abundant funds, reminding commissioners of the numerous issues in the county needing attention.

She acknowledged that a reserve is necessary but is concerned an excess fund signaled poor or ineffective management.

Lester criticized the board’s stance on allowing cryptocurrency mining operations, stating a large portion of Tift County residents spoke out against allowing crypto facilities in the county when the board had received applications earlier this year, yet the county had refused to enact greater restrictions on the allowance of those facilities.

County Commission refrained from directly responding to the claims.

However, County Manager Jim Carter admitted the county reserve fund had grown significantly, explaining it was due to funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Carter said the county has numerous projects in the works, estimating that through working on them, the reserve fund would likely shrink by a great degree.