The sales tax that never goes away

Though the Georgia General Assembly authorized the use of special purpose local option sales tax measures in 1985, it seems they have been around forever in one form or another. School systems have their own E-SPLOST measures and so do counties. Every five years, as one rolls off, county and school leaders, start figuring out what projects to put on the next one.

It is an interesting Kabuki dance. While it is, in essence, a tax that never goes away, it is up to voters to decide if the list of projects is worthwhile enough for the 1 percent tax to continue. That means the list has to contain items that have a sometimes wide — and sometimes narrow — appeal to gather enough votes for the measures to pass.

There are two things voters need to keep in mind when deciding whether to vote yes or no:

▪ SPLOST funds cannot be used for operations only infrastructure — brick and mortar

▪ And, construction can’t begin until money has been collected. Certainly, that can be circumvented by issuing bonds to be paid back with SPLOST proceeds, but that comes at a cost.

In Macon-Bibb County, before consolidation, there was also another dance that had to occur. Only counties can call for a SPLOST referendum, so cities inside a county, in this case, Macon, had to negotiate the project list with the county commission. To say the dance was a smooth cha-cha would not be accurate. It was more akin to a prize fight’s opening rounds with both fighters warily circling each other. In the end the governing bodies would come to some agreement and come before the voters with a unified list. Money from the tax has funded all sorts of projects. The Houston County schools have built several schools using E-SPLOST funds. Earlier this year voters signed up for another round. Houston County also constructed a new judicial center with SPLOST money.

But sometimes voters rebel, and it’s not always a SPLOST that goes down in defeat. In 2000, Houston County schools tried to pass a $160.5 million school bond proposal to build facilities. It lost by 821 votes. It was the beginning of the end of Superintendent Charles Holloway’s administration.

It was an interesting time in Bibb County in 2004 when the so-called “Recreation SPLOST” lost by 575 votes. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company had announced its departure. The county was considering a property tax increase and was under court order to build a new jail. C. Jack Ellis was Macon’s mayor and Tommy Olmstead was chairman of the Bibb County Commission, both supported the SPLOST. An anti-SPLOST effort was successfully waged by opponents who believed recreation should receive more than the $60 million of the $153 million outlined in the plan. There was also angst in southern Bibb over a botched attempt by the county to deal with encroachment at Robins Air Force Base.

And there were other reasons that played out, some having to do with another SPLOST that passed in 1994 by only 346 votes. It was the $300 million Roads Improvement Program that isn’t finished yet. A remnant of that SPLOST can be experienced along Forest Hill Road any day of the week.

Now comes the consolidated government of Macon-Bibb County developing a list for the next SPLOST that’s expected to raise a whopping $280 million. Why another SPLOST? Simple. Our community could never afford the projects out of our general fund. Here is a preliminary list:

▪  Landfill: $22 million;

▪ Courthouse repairs and upgrades: $40 million;

▪ Blight remediation: $10 million;

▪ Stormwater: $20 million;

▪ Debt retirement/blight bond repayment: $38 million;

▪ Roads/bridges/transportation: $35 million;

▪ Public safety: $20 million;

▪ Recreation/culture/public facilities: $70 million;

▪ Economic development: $25 million.

There are notably some very unsexy items on the list. It’s hard to get excited about stormwater and landfills. We would like to see one other project on the list: the expansion of the runway at Middle Georgia Regional Airport. This SPLOST will come to a vote if the commissioners agree on Nov. 8 and is in our power to control its fate.

Like other communities, many of the projects will span more than one SPLOST, but the final product will be more grand than imagined and our community’s attractiveness will be the result. And here’s the good part: Much of the improvements will be paid for by people who don’t live here. What a deal.

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "The sales tax that never goes away."