DeKalb County is considering a referendum in November 2016 that would ask voters to raise sales taxes and lower residential property taxes.
The county had initially anticipated putting the measure on the ballot March 1, but the government needed more time to gather citizen feedback and decide funding priorities for the special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST).
The proposal would raise sales taxes by 1 percentage point, to a total of 8 percent, with the proceeds paying for road resurfacing, transportation and infrastructure projects, according to House Bill 215.
If approved, the initiative would also dedicate a higher portion of existing sales tax collections to reducing homeowners' property tax bills.
DeKalb announced this week it has formed a SPLOST Citizens Review Committee that will be responsible for leading the public input process and developing a list of infrastructure projects. The committee was appointed by each county commissioner and Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May.
Its members are Robert Miller, Gordon Kenna, Alice Bussey, Terry Brantley, Willie Lewis, John Keys, Bruce McMillan, Markus Butts and Dave Sjoquist.
