T-SPLOST effort on the move again

The push for a regional transportation sales tax referendum is moving again.

It appears unlikely, however, that all the steps can be completed to get the referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot. That means that any public vote probably would be held sometime next year.

Designated elected officials from each of the 11 counties in the region are expected for a roundtable meeting soon.

The first task would be to appoint an executive committee of roundtable members to compile a project list, said Laura Mathis, deputy director of the Middle Georgia Regional Commission.

Once the list is done, there will be public hearings, and then the roundtable members will vote on whether to call for the referendum.

Mathis said she is communicating with the roundtable members to set a date for the meeting, which is likely in the next few weeks. However, the public hearings as well as other requirements make it unlikely the referendum could be on the November ballot, she said.

The push for the referendum began in September after the Middle Georgia Regional Commission polled the 11 county commissions and a majority wanted to move forward with it. But Houston County, the second most populous in the region, opposed it, along with Putnam, Monroe and Twiggs counties.

Those in favor of a transportation sales tax referendum are Peach, Crawford, Macon-Bibb, Jones, Baldwin, Wilkinson and Pulaski counties.

The roundtable meeting will include the commission chairman of each county and one mayor from each county. The mayor is selected by all of the mayors in that county. For Macon-Bibb’s consolidated government, the members are Mayor Robert Reichert and Commissioner Larry Schlesinger.

Schlesinger said he volunteered for the position, and the other commissioners agreed.

In 2012 a referendum for a regional transportation special purpose local option sales tax, or T-SPLOST, failed with 56 percent of voters across the region rejecting it.

Schlesinger said he thinks the key to getting it approved this time is to find the right distribution of projects so that voters in every county can feel they are benefiting equally.

“If it’s going to fly, there’s just got to be some pet project in there for all of our counties, in an equitable way, so that everybody could be on board,” he said.

Mathis said it has taken some time to get to the roundtable meeting because of other steps that had to be taken, including waiting on the state to project the revenues. That has been calculated to be $663 million over 10 years. Of that, 75 percent would go toward regional projects on a list that’s still to be determined. The remaining 25 percent would be distributed to counties according to population and miles of roads, including dirt roads. That portion could be used at each county’s discretion on transportation projects.

Had the referendum gotten on the November ballot with a hotly contested presidential election, it would have brought an entirely different voter dynamic than the failed 2012 referendum.

Schlesinger said the T-SPLOST might stand a better chance on the November ballot, but he also noted that Macon-Bibb County is seeking an extension of its own special purpose local option sales tax in November. He said that could be tough to get voters to approve two sales taxes in one election.

All counties in the region currently have sales taxes of seven cents on the dollar, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson, who is on the roundtable, said he wants to see the final project list before deciding whether to support the referendum.

“I think it would be wise for everybody to take stock and see how it is going to benefit each county,” he said. “It should be beneficial to everybody in the region. We haven’t bought in or not bought in to anything yet.”

The other members of the roundtable for each county are Baldwin County Commission Chairman Sammy Hall and Milledgeville Mayor Gary Thrower; Crawford County Commission Chairman Paul Chapman and Roberta Mayor Becky Smith; Houston County Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker and Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms; Jones County Commission Chairman Preston Hawkins and Gray Mayor Stephen Tingen; Monroe County Commission Chairman Mike Bilderback; Peach County Commission Chairman Melvin Walker and Byron Mayor Larry Collins; Pulaski County Sole Commissioner Butch Hall and Hawkinsville City Commission Chairman Henry Cravey; Putnam County Commission Chairman Stephen Hersey and Eatonton Mayor Walter Rocker; Twiggs County Commission Chairman Ken Fowler and Jeffersonville Mayor Charles Williams; and Wilkinson County Commission Chairman Mark Dupree and Irwinton Mayor Roger Bacon.

This story was originally published June 17, 2016 at 2:08 PM with the headline "T-SPLOST effort on the move again."