T-SPLOST: What is at Stake for Athens, Ga.?
Will the one-cent sales tax take a victory lap or crash and burn?
T-SPLOST will generate millions for transportation projects, but will voters in Athens, Ga., pass it?
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Athens voters will go to the polls on July 31 to select ACC Commissioners and Republican or Democratic candidates for public offices. Voters will also decide whether to impost a one-cent sales tax on themselves to fund transportation projects.
For the so-called T-SPLOST. the state has been divided into regions along the same lines as it has been for the Regional Development Commissions. Athens is in roughly the center of a 12-county region in Northeast Georgia.
Here are a few things about the T-SPLOST you might not have realized:
- There is no way for a county in a voting region to opt out of T-SPLOST. It will pass by a majority of votes, not on a county-by-county basis. Or, it won’t pass. It will last for 10 years.
- The State DOT is going to reward those regions in which voters have approved the T-SPLOST and punish those which have not. Counties in regions giving the T-SPLOST a thumb’s up will match only 10 percent of future Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants with local money while the state pays 90 percent. If a county’s region votes down the T-SPLOST, each county will pay 30 percent. Counties now pay about a 20 percent match.
- The Northeast Georgia Region will generate about $988 million over 10 years, $744 million of which will be spend on regional projects. In the Northeast Georgia region, there are 70 projects, of which 18 are in Athens Clarke County.
- If the Northeast Georgia region passes the T-SPLOST, Athens Clarke County will get about $2.01 million annually to spend on local projects, which can include everything from sidewalks and bike paths to road resurfacing and intersection improvements. The state has no oversight of these projects, says ACC public works director David Clark.
Athens Patch will carry a detailed list of the 18 projects on Tuesday, so stay tuned.
Dave Ballard
8:25 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
I've voted "NO" on every SPLOST option that's come down the line for the simple fact that we are Taxed Enough Already. Either it's important enough to fit into the going budget, or it isn't.
And screw you, Atlanta, for trying to strong-arm the rest of us into raising taxes on ourselves.
Rebecca McCarthy
9:53 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
Dave,
what troubles me about this is the threat element, the "incentive" to pass it. Some have cynically suggested the whole thing is a way for the DOT to start giving counties less money for road maintenance....but at the same time, we need some of these projects. it's a mess, if you ask me. But advocates are going to work hard to get people to vote for it, and many will.
J Faucher
11:02 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
Speaking of strong-arm tactics, let's look at what Mayor Denson and ACC have chosen to do regarding the Tallassee-Whitehead intersection. Instead of improving this dangerous intersection with $800k available, they've chosen a tactic of telling citizens to pass T-Splost if they want to see the intersection receive a direly needed traffic light (or possibly a round-about). The public forum held 14 June was a farce -- pure politicking for T-Splost, NOT a session for public input and questions.
Mark Ralston
4:30 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
Very mixed feelings. Georgia's road and bridges are in terrible shape and getting worse. We need good infrastructure to promote safety, support business, and simply enable all of us to get from Point A to Point B efficiently. With gas tax revenues falling, current methods aren't keeping up with our needs. Taxing ourselves to improve our transportation system seems logical. An "I hate taxes" protest vote is appealing, but what's the alternative? Is there a viable "Plan B" if TSPLOST fails? I plan to spend a lot of time in the next few weeks seeking answers and thinking really hard about this one.
Catherine S
8:05 am on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Mark, if "Georgia's road and bridges are in terrible shape and getting worse" isn't it the fault of the same entities (legislature, GDOT, etc) who are now pushing us to spend even more money? A significant percentage of gas tax monies have been diverted from actual road improvements for quite some time, at the federal level as well. Don't be fooled. TIA / Tsplost is designed to create a new level of regional government, which will further restrict the voice of the individual voter/taxpayer and have little accountability to same. In addition, the long term goal is to get us out of our cars, living in higher density population centers, and using mass transit (which is fine if the free market chooses this, not if the ruling elites force us into it). There are as many Plans B as there are ideas. We are not at the mercy of politicians, unelected bureaucrats, and special interest groups who are pushing this because they stand to profit. Please visit TrafficTruth.net, TrafficTruth on Facebook, and @TrafficTruth on Twitter for valuable information regarding the "special election referendum" on transportation.