Since 1985, Gwinnett County residents have voted to tax themselves through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) program to provide dedicated funding for specific capital improvement projects and sustain their wonderful live-work-play communities.
Proceeds have been used to purchase property and build the Gwinnett County Justice and Administration Building; for transportation improvement and safety projects too numerous to name, and for park and recreation facilities, libraries and fire stations.
Gwinnett is preparing to call a referendum in November that asks voters to continue the 1 percent sales tax after the current SPLOST program expires in 2014.
It has been proposed to allocate up to three-quarters of the county’s portion of the sales tax revenue to transportation projects. As SPLOST funds can be allocated only to capital projects, it is my belief they should be used for projects which are, as I describe them, high-capital and low-maintenance. In other words, the cost to construct them is high relative to the cost to maintain them.
The use of SPLOST funds to improve and expand our transportation system is, in my opinion, the best use of this funding mechanism. This is the reason I support dedicating to transportation projects 70 to 75 percent of any revenue from a future program.
A basic responsibility of government is to provide a transportation system for the reliable and effective movement of people and goods. It is one thing government does well and must continue to do for a community to stay economically viable.
Projects such as Ronald Reagan Parkway, Sugarloaf Parkway and the Satellite Boulevard extensions are prime examples. Widening projects on Singleton Road, Annistown Road and Steve Reynolds Boulevard are others. SPLOST funds have been used to improve intersections in every corner of the county, build hundreds of miles of sidewalks, improve school safety and improve curves and sight distance issues.
I would venture to guess that not one person in Gwinnett can drive more than three miles without experiencing some portion of that drive that has been improved by funds from SPLOST programs. I simply cannot imagine where we would be today without them.
The county has always taken things one step farther in being responsive to its citizens, by having citizen committees identify projects and prioritize them. I am certain we will continue to do so if the next program is passed by the voters.
As we move into the future and continue our recovery from the Great Recession, I think it is imperative that Gwinnett County continue the SPLOST program and dedicate as much as possible to transportation expansion and improvement. I believe it is imperative to pay for these essential projects through a sales tax, as opposed to the traditional property tax which burdens only the county’s property owners.
Tommy Hunter represents District 3 on the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners.
