Voters in Jones County and the City of Gray will be asked in November to authorize the imposition of an additional one-cent sales tax to fund transportation-related improvements.
While no official call for a referendum has been issued yet, the Board of Commissioners voted Jan. 15 to initiate the process of doing so. Subject to the county commissioners taking formal action to authorize the referendum, the question on the General Election ballot Nov. 5 will be whether to approve a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST). If it passes, collection would begin April 5, 2025, and run for five years, unless terminated earlier.
Both Jones County and Gray have been collecting a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for years, and those funds are used in lieu of property taxes for various projects. State law dictates that the SPLOST must be in place to allow for a T-SPLOST referendum.
Jones County Administrator Jason Rizner said county and city officials discussed the possible referendum and the division of sales tax proceeds a couple of months ago.
An informal agreement on a 75-25 percent split came in a February meeting between the two governmental bodies, with the larger share going to the county, Rizner said. Prior to the adoption of a resolution calling for the referendum, Gray and Jones County must negotiate and approve the intergovernmental agreement, which must contain a list of possible projects to be undertaken, he explained.
“We have a draft intergovernmental agreement that is being reviewed by attorneys for both entities.”
Rizner said the commissioners were planning on a work session this past Tuesday and commented this past Monday morning that he anticipated another might be needed to finalize the county’s list.
“Hopefully,” he added, “the two entities can develop a project list that everybody can latch onto, that will be beneficial to everybody, whether they live in the city or not.”
Meanwhile, the administrator said, he has been exploring funding options.
“I’ve been talking with bond counsel about how to incorporate that into the process in case the board wants to include bond authorization in the referendum,” he reported. “That would allow us to get the projects moving faster.”
State law includes as permissible uses of T-SPLOST funds the acquisition of right-of-way, new construction and renovation and improvement of roads, streets, bridges, sidewalks and bicycle paths.
Rizner explained that he analyzed the SPLOST proceeds for 2022-23 to calculate an estimated five-year total for the proposed T-SPLOST.
“The average amount collected monthly was approximately $284,150,” he said. “That would produce just over $17 million in five years. Of that total,” he added, “25 percent would go to the city under the proposed split.”
District 3 Commissioner Wendy Vaughn is clearly supportive of the tax and said the county will definitely benefit from the extra penny over five years.
“It’s a fair tax across the board, and anybody who comes to Jones County and spends money actually provides for us in Jones County,” she commented. “And, for those who rent who don’t pay property taxes, it’s a fair tax for them because they have to pay it, also.”
Vaughn said the amount received from the state for paving of roads has decreased significantly.
“The state gives us very little money for LMIG (Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant). We used to be able to resurface about five miles a year. Now we can barely pave a mile with LMIG.
“We still have roads on the list that have been there for 25 years, dirt roads, and we need these dirt roads paved,” the commissioner pointed out. “This is the only way we will be able to do that and not have to raise property taxes. I think if I am not mistaken, to pave one mile of a dirt road now costs about $3 million.”
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Vaughn said public awareness is important for measures such as the T-SPLOST.
“We need some people from the community to back this, to educate other people.”
Gray Mayor Pro-Tem James Collins acknowledged the status of the proposed referendum.
“There has been no official vote on it yet, but everybody seems to be on board with the 75-25 (percent) split,” Collins said, also confirming that the city is working on its project list in preparation for approving the intergovernmental agreement. He said Gray’s City Superintendent Cheyenne Morgan has submitted a list of potential projects, while Main Street Director Ashley Roberson is wanting to add some transportation-related improvements.
Rizner and Collins both mentioned sidewalks as needed projects, and each pointed out there are areas where sidewalks need to be connected.
“We’ve had sidewalk projects over the years, and there’s sidewalks in some areas,” Collins noted, “but there’s really no sidewalks connecting that area with the next area of sidewalks. It would be great to see some additional sidewalk planning and projects that could connect some of these areas.”
Collins is appreciative of the efforts thus far.
“The big takeaway here is the coordination and cooperation between the city and county,” he said. “It’s nice to have cooperation between the two that is going smoothly and to see a project like this that has the potential to help the city and county do a lot of things that are necessary and help benefit people in both the city and county.”
3/21/24 8:47AM
