SPLOST is a tricky equation

Published 10:36 am Monday, April 30, 2007

County commissioners unveiled an early version of their new Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) on Thursday. Commissioners emphasized that the initial plan prepared with help from the engineering firm of Moreland Altobelli was not necessarily the version which voters could be asked to consider in September.

The “maximum plan” calls for a 1 percent sales tax to be applied for six years. It would generate around $87 million. The money, coupled with an estimated $63 million in matching state and federal funds, would pay for $150 million in local transportation improvements.

County officials will meet with their counterparts in the city’s four municipalities — Dalton, Cohutta, Tunnel Hill and Varnell — to discuss SPLOST options at a public meeting on Monday at 1:30 p.m. at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center.

According to state law, the county must have a signed agreement from at least one of those municipalities to get the state’s approval for a six-year SPLOST. But even if they move forward with a shorter version of the plan, the commissioners clearly want to generate as much county-wide support as possible. A four-year SPLOST was rejected decisively by county voters in 2005.

Supporters of the SPLOST face a delicate task. If the public perceives the plan as an overblown, something-for-everybody proposal, then it may well suffer the same fate as the 2005 offering. The package put forth needs to be as lean as possible, focusing on crucial projects that will benefit large numbers of county residents.

The Moreland Altobelli plan is made up of 57 transportation-related projects. Are all of those really vital?

The plan does not include non-transportation projects, like additional jail space, recreational facilities or sewerage. How will that sit with city officials and the general public?

The meeting on Monday should be very interesting.



The Daily Citizen