SPLOST Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax What - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Roads & Bridges SPLOST

Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax

What is a Roads & Bridges SPLOST?

The Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or Roads & Bridges SPLOST, is a sales tax used to fund transportation purposes only. O.C.G.A. 48-8-260(5): “transportation purposes”. (5) 'Transportation purposes' means and includes roads, bridges, public transit, rails, airports, buses, seaports, including without limitation road, street, and bridge purposes pursuant to ….

• Effective July 1, 2017, the state legislature authorized counties to levy a 1% sales tax, if

approved by a referendum.

• To qualify, a county must already impose a regular SPLOST, and can not be in an existing

TIA region.

• Roads & Bridges SPLOST can be levied up to 5 years at a rate of 1%, collections cannot

exceed the published budget amount.

• If the referendum is approved by voters, the collections will begin April 1, 2019

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Roads & Bridges SPLOST Information

• Fair Tax: The proposed one cent Roads & Bridges SPLOST is a fair tax. It applies to all who

purchase goods in our county, not just those who own property. All who use the roads will

• contribute. The County & cities currently receive only 1% in sales tax.
• Helps Keep Property Taxes Low: This sales tax will allow the cities and County to keep

property taxes low and improve our road maintenance capacity.

• Improves Repaving Cycle: This sales tax will cut the repaving cycle in half from 40 years to 20

years, closer to the recommended 10-15-year lifespan of pavement.

• Grant Match Funds: Local R&B SPLOST can be used to match transportation grant funds from

State and Federal Governments. The $27.1 million in sales tax funds will likely generate an additional $14 million in grants.

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Property Tax Millage Rate Comparison

Comparing Habersham County’s general fund millage rate to the 159 counties in the state, we rank at the 8th percentile; meaning 92% of counties in Georgia have higher comparable millage rates.

What Transportation Projects are in Habersham County?

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These are pictures of just some of the current transportation project needs throughout the County and cities that would be funded by Roads & Bridges SPLOST.

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Bridge Repair or Replacement

• Habersham County maintains 56 bridges.
• 11 of those bridges have a sufficiency rating between 50 and 80,

which qualifies them for rehabilitation.

• 5 of those bridges have a sufficiency rating of less than 50,

which qualifies them for replacement.

• 6 bridges are reported as functionally obsolete and
• 2 are reported as structurally deficient.

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Riegel Access Rd. 2015-2016

Before After

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Willingham Ave. 2015-2016

Before After

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Wall Bridge 2015-2016

Before After

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New Liberty 2016-2017

Before After

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Watts Mill Rd. Bridge 2016-2017

County worker sandblasts area preparing for new header

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Crane Mill Rd. 2016-2017

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With an agreement between the cities and County, the Roads & Bridges SPLOST can be up to 1% and collections cannot exceed the published budget amount.

• 30% of the projected revenues must be used on projects consistent with the

Statewide Strategic Transportation Plan (SSTP). The SSTP is a policy document and does not include an exhaustive list of projects.

• Existing Pavement – Repave roads
• Existing Bridge – Resurface bridge decks
• Roadway Capacity – New and widen roads
• Safety – Interchange improvements
• Aviation – Runway extensions, expanded aircraft parking areas,

expanded maintenance areas

• Population and Road Miles: Distribution between the County and cities is

based on the terms of the IGA, which uses population and road miles to distribute funds.

Distribution Calculation for Roads & Bridges SPLOST

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2010 Population 2010 Population % Road Miles Road Miles % Combined % R & B SPLOST Distribution $ Revenue v. Road Miles Unincorporated Habersham County 30,748 71.44% 506 81.1% 76.3% 27,127,827 $10,722

Alto

658 1.53% 6.15 1.0% 1.3% 447,177 $14,542

Baldwin

2,538 5.90% 10.87 1.7% 3.8% 1,358,499 $24,995

Clarkesville

1,733 4.03% 15 2.4% 3.2% 1,143,612 $15,248

Cornelia

4,160 9.67% 48 7.7% 8.7% 3,087,055 $12,863

Demorest

1,823 4.24% 21 3.4% 3.8% 1,351,826 $12,875

• Mt. Airy

1,284 2.98% 14 2.2% 2.6% 929,589 $13,280

Tallulah Falls

97 0.23% 2.87 0.5% 0.3% 121,887 $8,494

Habersham County

43,041 100.00% 624 100% 100% 35,567,472 $11,402

Roads & Bridges SPLOST Project Lists:

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Habersham County Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 9,721,488 Restriping Roads, Adding/Replacing Guardrails and Signs $ 1,493,522 Repairing/Resurfacing Bridges $ 7,033,147 Adding/Replacing Culverts, Adding/Maintaining Ditches $ 488,789 Widening Roads, Paving Dirt and Gravel Roads $ 5,050,822 Equipment for Local Road Department $ 1,330,593 Aviation: Flightpath Clearance, Airport Hangars, Aircraft parking $ 2,009,466 Total $27,127,827

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Roads & Bridges SPLOST Project Lists:

Town of Alto Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 170,000 Restriping Roads, Adding/Replacing Guardrails and Signs $ 158,177 Adding/Replacing Culverts, Adding/Maintaining Ditches $ 15,000 Widening Roads, Paving Dirt and Gravel Roads $ 104,000 Total $ 447,177 City of Baldwin Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 1,133,499 Restriping Roads, Adding/Replacing Guardrails and Signs $ 75,000 Adding/Repairing/Replacing Sidewalks $ 150,000 Total $ 1,358,499

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Roads & Bridges SPLOST Project Lists:

City of Clarkesville Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 458,000 Adding/Replacing Culverts, Adding/Maintaining Ditches $ 172,000 Adding/Repairing/Replacing Sidewalks $ 343,000 Equipment for Local Road Department $ 170,612 Total $ 1,143,612 City of Cornelia Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 2,000,000 Repairing/Resurfacing Bridges $ 20,000 Adding/Replacing Culverts, Adding/Maintaining Ditches $ 100,000 Widening Roads, Paving Dirt and Gravel Roads $ 67,055 Adding/Repairing/Replacing Sidewalks $ 900,000 Total $ 3,087,055

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Roads & Bridges SPLOST Project Lists:

City of Demorest Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 1,045,000 Restriping Roads, Adding/Replacing Guardrails and Signs $ 50,000 Adding/Replacing Culverts, Adding/Maintaining Ditches $ 190,000 Widening Roads, Paving Dirt and Gravel Roads $ 40,000 Equipment for Local Road Department $ 26,826 Total $ 1,351,826

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Roads & Bridges SPLOST Project Lists:

Town of Mt. Airy Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 902,200 Repairing/Resurfacing Bridges $ 27,389 Total $ 929,589 Town of Tallulah Falls Repaving/Resurfacing/Repairing Existing Paved Roads $ 60,944 Widening Roads, Paving Dirt and Gravel Roads $ 60,943 Total $ 121,887

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Currently 75 counties have passed a Transportation SPLOST. There are 12 counties considering adoption of a Transportation SPLOST.

Concluding Points

• Fair Tax: distributes the burden for roadway repair, maintenance, and

expansion to everyone who uses the roads, not just property owners.

• Doubles resurfacing funds
• Improves Road and Bridge Safety
• Grant match leverages more State and Federal Funds.
• Those who live outside Habersham County but travel on our roads to

work, visit, vacation, or pass through would contribute to the cost of maintaining the roads they use.

• Those pennies will add up to approximately $35.5 million to go

towards much needed funding for our Roads & Bridges Improvement Program.

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