Cities asked to support TSPLOST
The city of LaFayette recently OK’ed an intergovernmental agreement with Walker County to hold a TSPLOST vote on Nov. 7.
LaFayette is just one of the county’s four cities entering such an agreement. Rossville, Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain area also calling for a vote on TSPOST, which stands for Transportation SpecialPurpose Local-Option Sales Tax.
LaFayette City Manager David Hamilton, Mayor Andy Arnold and Councilman Chris Davis met with Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield on Aug. 23 — along with city managers, council members and mayors form the other three cities — to discuss the TSPLOST vote.
TSPLOST is a one percent sales tax increase that will be used to improve transportation and roads.
“In order to do that, we have to enter into a intergovernmental agreement,” Arnold said. “That agreement is between the county, the city of LaFayette, the city of Chickamauga, the city of Lookout Mountain, and the city of Rossville.”
If approved by voters, the intergovernmental agreement would run for five years. Collection of the extra penny-on-a-dollar sales tax would begin on April 1, 2018, and run through March 31, 2023.
The money is earmarked for transportation and roads improvements. It can be spent on infrastructure underneath the roads, sidewalks, culverts, and bridges, as well as bike and walking trails, Arnold said.
At the end of every year, the county and each city will conduct an audit to showcase what projects were completed or are currently being worked on, Arnold said.
“I think it is a great idea to take it to the citizens of Walker County. The thing about any kind of (sales) tax is, if somebody who is not from your county comes into the county and spends money, they help pay for the infrastructure and I like that,” Arnold said. “I think that that is a fair tax.”
The city looks to receive 11.67 percent of the total TSLPOST collection, Hamilton said.
Recent upgrades and road paving in the city are being paid for with the traditional SPLOST funds the city collects.