New SPLOST priorities
Gwinnett County commissioners moved $9 million in SPLOST revenue from planning and long-range projects to more immediate needs.
Intersection improvements: $2.4 million
Road improvements: $2.1 million
Road paving: $2.2
Bridge improvement: $1.4 million
Pedestrian improvements: $849,000
School safety: $200,000
Slumping sales tax revenues have forced Gwinnett County to move $9.2 million in SPLOST funds from planning and long-range transportation projects to more immediate needs of widening roads and fixing bridges, sidewalks and intersections this year.
Gwinnett County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the move, which will reallocate $1.7 million in leftover cash from the 2005 SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) fund, along with $7.4 million from the 2009 fund, which expires this year.
Kim Conroy, the county’s transportation director, said SPLOST revenues are off about $30 million overall, or about 10 percent of the $315 million in transportation funding expected over the life of the tax.
SPLOST is funded by a 1 cent sales tax on most retail sales. The recession has caused many people to spend less, which has reduced the amount of revenue for the county.
Conroy said this is the first time since he has been associated with SPLOST programs, beginning in 1987, that revenues have come in under projections.
“Rather than putting more money on the shelf, it made sense to … take care of current needs,” Conroy said. “We have a lot of current needs.”
The biggest projects being immediately funded are $2.2 million for various road paving work; $1.4 million for the Walther Boulevard bridge over Ga. 316; and $1.1 million for relocating Venture Road.
Newly elected commissioner Tommy Hunter said he supported the move because people want to see their tax dollars at work.
“Rather than just having the money sit there, it makes sense to put jobs on the ground so people can see what they’re paying for,” Hunter said. “When I put a dollar in, I want to see something for it. If anybody is going to save my money, it ought to be me.”
John Karnowski, a transportation engineer and chairman of the citizen panel that helped choose projects to be funded with SPLOST, said he’s satisfied that the changes remain true to the panel’s vision.
“I don’t think they changed the intent of the committee,” Karnowski said. “It’s just good stewardship.”
Overall, $2.4 million will be spent improving 10 intersections; $2.1 million upgrading five major roads; and $849,000 on sidewalks and improving crosswalks at McGinnis Ferry Road and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
Conroy said many of the projects will begin in the next couple of months, although a few won’t be completed until 2014. Some of the dollars being reallocated, he said, are savings from previous transportation projects that came in under budget.
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