Voters say 'no' to extra 1 percent sales tax for transportation
The regional transportation sales tax referendum appeared to be narrowly defeated in unofficial results in the 11-county region late Tuesday.
With all precincts reporting, the total was 31,024 voting no with 29,748 in favor, or 51 percent to 49 percent. It won in five counties and lost in six, including the two most populous counties, Bibb and Houston. Putnam, Monroe, Jones and Pulaski also voted it down, while it won in Baldwin, Crawford, Peach, Twiggs and Wilkinson.
The final totals in each county were:
- Baldwin - 2,715 yes to 2,139 no;
- Bibb - 10,555 yes to 10,799 no;
- Crawford - 822 yes to 695 no;
- Houston - 6,390 yes to 7,769 no;
- Jones - 1,819 yes to 2,027 no;
- Monroe - 1,979 yes to 2,579 no;
- Peach 1,580 yes to 1,406 no;
- Pulaski 380 yes to 452 no;
- Putnam 1,552 yes to 1,854 no;
- Twiggs 971 yes to 594 no; and
- Wilkinson 985 yes to 710 no.
The tax was projected to collect $637 million over a 10-year period throughout the region.
In 2012 there was more organized opposition to the tax, and it failed with 54 percent voting no and 44 percent voting yes. Leaders of the NAACP and the Citizens Against T-SPLOST, a group led by former Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders, played a role in the tax's downfall that year.
The T-SPLOST list in Tuesday's vote included 55 projects that would have gotten 75 percent of the revenue. The remaining 25 percent, roughly $159 million, would have been divided up among the counties with the local elected officials to decide how to spend the money on transportation.
Major projects included $30 million for the extension of Sardis Church Road in Bibb County to Interstate 16, and $36.7 million for widening of U.S. 41 from Ga. 96 to Watson Boulevard. The largest project was $105 million for the widening of Ga. 96 from Bonaire to I-16.
The tax would have added a penny on the dollar to sales in the midstate.
This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 12:12 AM with the headline "Voters say 'no' to extra 1 percent sales tax for transportation."