Cobb cancels March SPLOST meetings amid coronavirus concerns

Cobb County has cancelled its March open houses on its Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax renewal.

Credit: Cobb County

Credit: Cobb County

Cobb County has cancelled its March open houses on its Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax renewal.

Cobb County has called off the remaining March open houses for its Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax renewal that will be on the ballot in November.

The county has cancelled open houses planned for March 18-19, March 25-26 and March 31, said county spokesman Ross Cavitt. The open houses planned for April and May remain on schedule, the county said.

Cavitt said the county originally had 20 open houses scheduled through May 5. As the April dates approach, Cobb County will reassess whether to reschedule the March town halls, Cavitt said.

The referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot will ask voters to consider renewing the county’s SPLOST program for another six years. If approved, the county projects $810 million in sales tax revenue will be collected to pay for projects around Cobb as well as its cities.

will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. If approved, it’s projected the six-year program would generate $810 million in revenue for

You can visit the county's website for the SPLOST 2020 renewal to get those dates and times.

Cobb Commission Chair Mike Boyce, who made the decision to cancel the open houses, said the choice was “based on concerns of residents and the desire to help staff focus primarily on protecting our community by handling other issues as they develop.”

READ | AJC’s coronavirus coverage

County Commissioner Bob Ott has also cancelled two upcoming town hall meetings for District 2 constituents: March 17 at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church and April 21 at East Cobb Library.

Cobb County has taken additional measures to curtail the spread of the virus, including deep cleaning senior centers each weekend, issuing travel guidelines for its employees and creating a task force to manage the situation.

SEE | A map of coronavirus cases in Georgia

The cancellations come on the heels of the county announcing Tuesday that it would close West Cobb Library  for deep cleaning after learning an employee was possibly exposed to the virus. The county has not said when the library will reopen to the public.

The employee has not been diagnosed, but “the worker was sent home and a cleaning company has been contracted to work on the facility,” the county said Tuesday.

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