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Should new DeKalb sales tax pay only for roads?

DeKalb County commissioners and officials discussed a proposal to raise sales taxes to pay for roads and infrastructure needs at the Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library on Friday. Seated at the head of the table are Commissioners Mereda Davis Johnson, Larry Johnson, Sharon Barnes Sutton, Jeff Rader and Kathie Gannon. MARK NIESSE / MARK.NIESSE@AJC.COM
DeKalb County commissioners and officials discussed a proposal to raise sales taxes to pay for roads and infrastructure needs at the Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library on Friday. Seated at the head of the table are Commissioners Mereda Davis Johnson, Larry Johnson, Sharon Barnes Sutton, Jeff Rader and Kathie Gannon. MARK NIESSE / MARK.NIESSE@AJC.COM
By Mark Niesse
June 10, 2016

Grand plans to raise DeKalb County's sales taxes to pay for hundreds of millions of dollars in construction projects may be scaled back.

Some county commissioners say they want the sales tax to pay only for road repairs, and other infrastructure improvements can wait.

Other commissioners say this is the best opportunity to raise money for a new government center, a police academy, fire stations, sidewalks, libraries and parks.

Commissioners will decide later this month whether to put the special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) referendum on the ballot in November.

ExplorePlease read the full story on MyAJC.com.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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