Atlanta Forward readers responded to last week’s columns about the Gwinnett County SPLOST referendum in November. If passed, about 75 percent of the revenue would be used to fix roads. County Commissioner Tommy Hunter wrote in favor of the SPLOST’s focus on roads: “I think it is imperative that Gwinnett County continue the SPLOST program,” he said, “and dedicate as much as possible to transportation expansion and improvement.” A community activist, Sabrina Smith, said it would help if the county was more transparent about how it’s spending other tax revenue. She said a “no” vote on the SPLOST wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But she urged state representatives to approve fractional SPLOSTs for local communities in the future.
Don: I would be more in favor of SPLOST for road construction if the county would perform and publish a cost/benefit analysis and comparison of alternatives for major projects like Sugarloaf Parkway. Was building it worth the cost? What else might we have done? We'll never know.
Sawb: The concept of SPLOST programs and CIDs make great sense as they allow citizens to tax themselves for projects in their communities. I would expect the program to be continued, especially if the money is slated for transportation issues. However, the county needs to release a project list before the vote so people can see exactly what they're being asked to approve.
Laurie: Just curious, what is the current sales tax rate in Gwinnett? The sales tax rate has become a factor in where I shop these days. I'd much rather spend money in Cherokee or Cobb where the rate is 6 percent than in Atlanta, where it's like 9 percent now.
Mangler: So, Sabrina's argument is that rather than let Gwinnett County tax itself at a known rate of 1 percent, shift the burden of increasing taxes to the state and let them decide how much Gwinnett will tax itself. What if the state decides the SPLOST should be higher than 1 percent? What if it decides that the rate should be 1/2 percent, or no SPLOST at all? What then? … However, the point about the (1 percent) taxed amount being higher than the cost of capital projects is also good. What if all improvements don't take up the entire 70 to 75 percent of the SPLOST money? Will they start digging up perfectly good sidewalks and repaving them simply to spend the money? Or should there be a surplus, would that amount go into a rainy day transportation fund for some emergency?
