SPLOST Season: Chatham County begins push for eighth penny-sales-tax referendum this November
The push for a new Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum has begun in Chatham County.
County Manager Michael Kaigler sent a letter to city managers at each of Chatham's municipalities requesting a meeting on March 31 to plan a SPLOST 8 referendum. The letter indicates the county is aiming to have SPLOST on the ballot for the Nov. 4 election.
Each of the county's municipalities will develop their own project list, which then are presented to the Chatham County Board of Commissioners. The commissioners ultimately approve the final, county-wide list.
"I think this is my fourth SPLOST. It's delicate," said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson at a city council workshop on SPLOST planning. "It is where the administrative and the political come together. At the end of the day this has to be passed by the voters.
ESPLOST: All is quiet on the voting front: 5.81% of Savannah-Chatham County voters pass ESPLOST
SPLOST has had sweeping success in being approved by voters in Chatham County. The most recent SPLOST election, held in 2019 during other municipal elections such as city council, was approved with 67.58% of the vote.
Kaigler's letter outlined key dates for new SPLOST planning.
Municipalities are scheduled to provide approved-project lists to the county on May 23. The county is scheduled to approve its list and an intergovernmental agreement with municipalities on June 13, according to the letter's timeline.
"The county sets the timeline for the vote and the referendum, and we understand it's a short timeline but we feel we'll be able to get the information (council) needs to have this discussion," said Savannah City Manager Jay Melder at the council workshop."
The SPLOST is a penny sales tax devoted to capital projects around the county. Since the county's first SPLOST in 1985, the penny tax has pulled over $1.5 billion in revenue. As a sales tax, about 40% of the revenues are paid for by visitors.
Key projects supported by SPLOST over the years include Enmarket Arena and Memorial Stadium. But the tax has also been critical in funding infrastructure such as roads or drainage, including improvements to Savannah's Springfield Canal.
The SPLOST 8 process kicks off just a week after county voters approved an extended Education Special Local Option Sales Tax referendum. The ESPLOST is a penny sales tax funding education-related project. The March 18 vote was one day after St. Patrick's Day-- the day the county sent its letter to municipalities.
The ESPLOST referendum was approved with 64% of the vote.
Evan Lasseter is the city of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah region begins planning on next SPLOST referendum
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