A proposal to repave roads, build a government center and repair fire stations in DeKalb County was defeated Tuesday.
The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 against holding a referendum on a 1 percent sales tax that would have raised money for road repaving and a long list of other government projects until their meeting later tonight. The special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) would have generated $551 million over five years for public infrastructure.
Commissioners agreed that DeKalb needs to repair more than 400 miles of dilapidated roads, but they were divided over spending priorities. Several commissioners wanted funding to focus on transportation projects, while others sought a wider range of countywide construction, from a police academy to libraries.
“I believe the citizens of DeKalb County can make an educated, informed decision as to what they feel is in their best interest,” said Commissioner Mereda David Johnson. “That’s all that I ask. Give people the right to make that decision, put it on the ballot.”
But the deciding factor against the SPLOST was a previously overlooked state law that could have triggered a property tax increase.
DeKalb officials learned last week that a law meant to preserve homeowners’ tax exemptions would have disappeared if the SPLOST had passed. The exemption gives residents a discount on their county property taxes to offset increases in home values.
The legislation, House Bill 596, wasn’t meant to eliminate the exemption when the Georgia General Assembly approved it last year. But its wording mistakenly said the exmption would be “tolled,” or suspended, instead of “exempted” if tax changes related to the SPLOST became law.
State lawmakers say they can change that law during next year’s legislative session, and then DeKalb leaders could try again to pass a SPLOST.
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