Walker County votes to continue SPLOST
Walker County residents overwhelmingly voted to continue the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, to fund capital outlay projects for another six years.
Of the 13,428 ballots cast in the referendum on the June 9 primary ballot, 9,069 voters, or 67.5%, opted to continue the 1% tax, while 4,359 voters voted against it.
Commissioner Shannon Whitfield previously stated using sales tax dollars to help finance capital outlay projects eases the tax burden on property owners. The current SPLOST expires Sept. 30.
Officials anticipate the tax will generate $44 million over its six-year lifespan, according to the intergovernmental agreement that listed the infrastructure projects and equipment purchases on which each government would spend its funds. Local officials have said they are vigilant to determine how much COVID-19 will impact their revenue collections; meanwhile, the governor’s office has advised budgets for state agencies to prepare to cut their budgets 11% due to the ailing economy since the virus forced many Americans to shelter in place and many businesses and industries to close their doors temporarily and some permanently.
From each payment collected, the agreement states that 20% would be divided equally between the county, LaFayette, Chickamauga, Rossville and Lookout Mountain. Of the remaining 80%, the county would receive 75%, LaFayette 11%, Rossville 6.34%, Chickamauga 4.79%, Lookout Mountain 2.48% and Fort Oglethorpe 0.39%.
Walker County’s list included purchasing capital equipment for emergency management, the sheriff’s department, fire department, public works and the landfill. The county’s list also included funding improvements on county-owned buildings, roads, the landfill and animal shelter. The total anticipated cost for Walker County’s listed purchases and projects would be $28.16 million.
Fort Oglethorpe’s project list included water and sewer projects or equipment for U.S. 27 and Battlefield Parkway, and purchasing a police vehicle and equipment for a total of $137,280.
Chickamauga’s project list included library improvements, park improvements, improvements on city buildings and the train depot, purchasing vehicles and a garbage truck, utility system upgrades and various street-related improvements. These projects are expected to total nearly $1.69 million.
Chickamauga outlined $1.76 million in improvements for business districts, economic development and improvement projects, such as wireless internet, vehicle parking and land acquisition and electric underground and improvements, bringing the city’s total in SPLOST projects to about $3.45 million.
Lookout Mountain listed among its projects: construction and equipment for its new town center, downtown development, equipment and vehicles for public safety and public works, sewer and storm water equipment and improvements, and vehicles and improvements for parks and recreation. The city’s project list totaled $2.63 million.
Rossville listed $2.8 million in projects including public library improvements, recreation and historical area facilities upgrades and improvements, public works equipment and transportation improvements, infrastructure improvements and public safety general and communications equipment.
The city also listed several economic and downtown revitalization projects, including corridor development and beautification along McFarland and Chickamauga avenues. The projects are expected to total $1.76 million, bringing the city’s total project list to nearly $4.55 million.
LaFayette’s SPLOST project list totaled $6.6 million and included improvements at city recreation facilities, city lake, biking/walking trails and the Main Street/gateway and West LaFayette corridors, as well as remote learning, library, smart grid technology, street-related improvements and downtown development.
Catherine Edgemon is assistant editor for the Walker County Messenger in LaFayette, Ga., and the Catoosa County News in Ringgold, Ga.