Macon voters approve special tax that will raise $450m for local county projects

Voters in Macon-Bibb County approved a referendum Tuesday to implement a new Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that will raise $450 million for the county.

SPLOST was widely popular, with about 83% of voters in favor of the tax. SPLOST is a penny-per-dollar tax that localities vote to take on. Proceeds from the tax are used to fund projects approved by the county government.

The vote to implement the new SPLOST drew attention from many local leaders, who urged voters to show up and support the tax. According to data from the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections, more then 6,200 voters made their voices heard on the SPLOST referendum through in-person Election Day voting, in-person advanced voting or through an absentee ballot.

The SPLOST that voters just approved is set to take effect on Oc. 1, and will stay in effect until the Macon-Bibb County Tax Commissioner’s Office determines it has raised the approved amount of $450 million for the county.

The current SPLOST is set to be capped in the coming months and has raised $280 million for Macon-Bibb County. The money has gone towards repairing roads, upgrading public facilities and improving parks among other projects.

County leaders are still determining the details of where the funds drawn from the newly approved SPLOST will go. The resolution calling for the SPLOST referendum that the Macon-Bibb County Board of Commissioners approved in December said the money could go towards road improvement projects to add more lighting and sidewalks, upgrades to the Middle Georgia Regional Airport to encourage economic development and improvements to county buildings including possibly demolishing the Macon Coliseum for a more modern venue.