Compressed timeframe’ worries outweigh low turnout concerns
Two weeks after approving a six-year SPLOST referendum for November, the Fayette County Board of Commissioners voted at its July 28 regular meeting to postpone that same vote until March.
The move came with the agreement of the county’s five cities, which have agreed to pay a prorated share of the estimated $60,000 it will cost to have a special election. Distribution of SPLOST funds to the municipalities will be based on 2010 population figures.
Officials decided that the previous vote created a timeline that would be difficult to meet given the various legislative requirements for putting the referendum in motion, such as written notices and meetings. The extra four months will ease that burden considerably.
County manager Steve Rapson outlined the new timetable, beginning with the Sept. 6 meeting of the county’s transportation committee. That’s when county officials will begin firming up the list of transportation projects targeted for the estimated $19.5 million that will come in during the two extra years of SPLOST collections now that it has been expanded from four years to six.
The referendum is tentatively scheduled for March 21. That date has not yet been officially adopted by state officials but it is expected to be, Rapson said. The Board of Commissioners would issue the call for election Feb. 9 to give the required notice.
A joint meeting with the cities is needed because increasing the SPLOST to six years requires a new intergovernmental agreement. That meeting must be at least 30 days before the call for election, and Rapson said it will likely take place Jan. 5. An official notice to the cities about that meeting would have to be issued by Dec. 20.
“Having the SPLOST on a November cycle creates a time-frame so compressed that there are concerns that adequate notices have not been done,” according to a county staff report. “Delaying the SPLOST election and calling for a special called election creates a better opportunity to educate our residents of these critical projects and to further flesh out project lists to our residents.”
The motion to move the referendum to March passed by a 4-1 vote. The lone dissenting vote came from Commissioner Randy Ognio, who expressed concerns about possible low voter turnout for a special election that is not tied to the upcoming presidential election.
“No one has a reason to go vote in March,” he said.
All of the additional revenue from the six-year SPLOST will go toward transportation projects, as will about $3.5 million previously suggested for a proposed performing arts center. The county and cities ultimately decided to leave that project off the list.
Expected county funding from the original four-year SPLOST plan totaled $44,903,177 to be divided among stormwater projects, an E911 radio system, a fire station and a pumper. The Woolsey community center project would receive $223,000 from the county’s portion. That facility, to include a town hall and community museum as well as a possible visitor’s center, would be centered around the former Georgia Mercantile Building, a 100-year-old structure on Hwy. 92 that was donated to the town of Woolsey many years ago.
Several commissioners noted at the July 14 meeting that the performing arts center was a worthwhile endeavor and could perhaps be revisited at a later date.
