Cobb County residents vote Tuesday on a four-year sales tax extension that has divided the county between those intent on stopping the collection and others who think it’s the best way to pay for the projects it would fund.
If approved, the special purpose local option sales tax would begin Jan. 1, 2012, effectively continuing the current six-year SPLOST that ends the day before. The tax is expected to generate about $492 million over the four years for roads, parks and infrastructure renovation projects in the county and Cobb’s six cities.
Proponents, led by retired assistant district attorney Rose Wing and Citizens for Cobb’s Future, maintain an extension is needed to diversify the county’s tax base and provide the roads, buildings and public safety, which are reasons some people move to Cobb.
But the extension has strong opposition from vocal residents and groups who have testified at county meetings, rallied in the rain and done grass-roots work to get the tax defeated.
“The 1-cent tax does seem benign, but collectively we are paying hundreds of dollars each year in taxation,” said James Bell, co-founder of the Georgia Taxpayers Alliance, one key group opposing Cobb’s SPLOST. “We feel we can put that money back in our pockets ... Cobb needs to figure out how to manage its budget without depending on endless SPLOSTs to do it.”
Lance Lamberton, president of the Cobb County Taxpayers Association, estimated the SPLOST extension would equal a tax burden of $600 for every county resident. He contends the county’s SPLOST project list includes too many “wants” as opposed to “needs.”
One argument for a SPLOST is that it enables collections from non-county residents who use roads and other services.
That resonates with Clarice Barber-Page, who recalls picking up trash along Six Flags Drive in Austell when a driver with a Douglas County car tag, mistaking her volunteer work for criminal punishment, yelled at her out of his window.
“He said, ‘It’s about time you convicts do something,’ ” she said. “I said right then, ‘You are going to pay your 1 percent.’ ”
The incident occurred in 1994, the year Barber-Page first voted for Cobb’s SPLOST; 17 years later, she plans to vote ‘yes’ again on Tuesday. As in 1994, she believes that levies are the best way to pay for local projects.
“I think it’s a good idea to make Cobb less dependent on SPLOST, but I don’t think a 1 percent tax overtaxes us,” she said.
Bell, of the Georgia Taxpayers Alliance, has been criticized for jumping into matters outside his area — he lives in Douglas County and worked to defeat SPLOST proposals there — but his views reflect the anti-tax sentiment that has motivated the SPLOST opposition among groups, including the Georgia Tea Party.
Legislation also has been proposed at the state level that could limit when local governments can call for a SPLOST referendum.
“A lot has to do with the economy and unemployment and the cost of doing business and living,” said Kerwin Swint, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University. “In this part of Georgia, you’ve had a number of SPLOSTs and votes on taxes and fees in the past five to six years, and some people may be nearing a saturation point.”
If approved, Cobb’s SPLOST would be in place before a scheduled referendum for a regional transportation tax is held in 2012, and before state lawmakers decide on changes to the sales tax base, which could include taxing services such as haircuts, shoe repairs and lawn care.
“I think some local governments are saying we are going to do our [local sales tax levies] first and make the state look bad next year for trying to raise [sales taxes] again,” said Kelly McCutchen, president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
His organization favors SPLOST because it is a local tax for a limited period, for specific uses that can be verified.
But he acknowledged holding SPLOST votes in special elections rather than general elections is expensive and results in low voter turnout.
Election officials estimate Cobb’s special election will cost $340,000. Opponents have cited the cost and date in arguing against the extension.
“Opponents, like the Tea Party, are holding public officials accountable,” McCutchen said. “They have brought attention to spending from the federal all the way down to the local level.”
Tom Maloy, a Georgia Tea Party board member, said his group is not opposed to local governments levying a SPLOST, but it opposes Cobb’s project list for the 2011 proposal.
“We’ve got to defeat this thing if for no other reason than it’s not going to be business as usual anymore,” he said. “If nothing more than to have the county come back in 2012 for the general election with a list of things that are really needed, that’s why we have to get out and vote.”
The 2005 SPLOST narrowly passed by 114 votes with low voter turnout. Cobb voters also approved SPLOSTs in 1985, 1990 and 1994, in addition to passing separate SPLOSTs for schools in 1998, 2003 and 2008.
This year, the Taxpayers Association has raised $500 in cash for its anti-tax efforts. SPLOST supporters have raised $232,900 in contributions.
Donors included developers who frequently do business with the county, and community improvement districts whose leaders maintain their donations for voter education are allowed under SPLOST rules.
Opponents questioned the donations from the quasi-governmental groups and have filed complaints with the state ethics board for an investigation into the contribution.
Experts such as Swint say the SPLOST outcome will hinge on turnout.
“Cobb is a county where business interests are pivotal. You have a number of people who will lobby for it, campaign for it and that has carried them through,” Swint said. “Those are the people who show up and vote, the people who are more likely to have a stake and more interest in a SPLOST.”
About the Author
