Dear Editor,
With SPLOST No. 10 on the November ballot, people want to understand SPLOST as it applies to our county.
SPLOST stands for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The “optional” part means it must be put on the ballot for voters to decide. It’s a one-percent county sales tax used to fund capital projects proposed by the county government and qualified municipal governments (a portion of our tax goes to the City of Eatonton). The tax is collected on items subject to the sales and use tax within the county. It also applies to food, nonalcoholic beverages, and alcoholic beverages.
Additionally, it applies to sales of motor fuels as a “prepaid local tax” at the distributor level under OCGA § 48-8-2.
SPLOST No. 10 is on the ballot for Putnam County voters in November and is tied to a $33 million bond.
A “yes” vote means you approve continuing the tax and the bond. The county backs the bond with its full faith and credit. The county pledges its ability to collect property taxes to repay the debt. This sets the county up for potential financial trouble, as the fees, interest, and a recent road bond will put the county over $60 million in debt.
The Board of Commissioners wants to assure us they don’t have to pull the total dollar amount of the bond.
However, they withdrew all $22 million for the road bond (which factoring fees and interest was approximately $24.5 million), even though $8 million was already in the bank collected for roads. They also sold the road bond five hours before they approved it. And they want us to trust them with a SPLOST #10 bond?
Our county anticipates a yearly 6.5% annual tax revenue increase for a total cumulative rate of 37% over six years. Missing one year could compound the gap. These numbers are aggressive, especially considering many companies are lowering their economic outlook due to inflation pressures and employment issues impacting consumers.
Another issue is the lack of transparency in the projects funded by SPLOST No. 10. The jail project’s estimated cost is about $10 million (an assumption cost based on a percent of anticipated tax revenue), but there is no actual estimate for expanding or building it. An open records request for building drawings and associated costs was closed, stating the county commissioners did not possess the documents.
According to the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, approved projects can be scaled back but not abandoned, and any shortfall must be made up from the general fund or other sources. A cautionary tale comes from Oklahoma County (Okla.), which faces a $390 million shortfall on a $260 million bond for its new jail. All solutions being presented will hit the taxpayer in their wallet.
I ask that voters vote no to SPLOST No. 10 this November to avoid similar financial risks. While I support the completion of SPLOST No. 10 projects, I cannot support how it has been executed. We can revisit this in November 2025, when we could potentially have two new commissioners, together with Commissioner Hersey, who can present a more fiscally responsible SPLOST No. 10 proposal.
Jennifer Ray, Putnam County