Chatham County voters will have the chance to vote on $420 million in transportation funding this May as the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) comes up on the May 24 ballot.
A TSPLOST referendum was voted down in 2020, but it included several counties. This referendum would only include Chatham County and its municipalities. The tax is a penny sales tax that helps fund projects in municipalities and counties. There are funds for general projects — like the Enmarket Arena — and education funding.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Chatham County oversees the funds, which will be distributed amongst the municipalities and funneled into county road projects. Cities and towns submitted their project lists on Dec. 31, with Jan. 19 being the first meetings to discuss the projects and tax rates, according to a presentation given by Chatham County officials.
The vote on May 24 would trigger a five-year collection period, which would begin in October. The tax rate will be decided prior to the referendum vote, according to county documents.
Credit: Chatham County
Credit: Chatham County
The funds will be allocated by the county based on cities' population and road mileage. Chatham County will receive about $177 million for projects like the Little Neck Road widening, while Savannah will receive the biggest allocation of any municipality at $145 million, according to county documents.
The biggest TSPLOST-sponsored projects to be funded include:
- Little Neck Road widening: $50 million project sponsored by the county
- Quacco Road widening: $10 million project sponsored by Pooler
- Benton Boulevard widening: $31.8 million project to widen sections in Port Wentworth and Savannah
- Old Louisville Road improvements: $8.5 million project sponsored by Garden City
- Truman Parkway improvements: $10 million project sponsored by the county
- I-95 at the Gateway Interchange: $8 million for safety improvements from the county
- Airways Avenue and Pooler Parkway: $43 million project from the county.
Credit: Chatham County
Credit: Chatham County
The remaining funds will be distributed to cities and towns for resurfacing projects (see above for allocation requests) and local projects. Additional funds will be distributed to the state (for an administrative fee), Chatham Area Transit Authority and ONE Chatham, the countywide initiative to improve quality of life for residents. County documents estimate total funding to be about $420 million.
Chatham County needs to secure Intergovernmental Agreements to put the referendum on ballots, and each municipality will hold public meetings to discuss their projects and fund in the coming months.
Zoe covers growth and how it impacts communities in the Savannah area. Find her at znicholson@gannett.com, @zoenicholson_ on Twitter, and @zoenicholsonreporter on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: TSPLOST is coming: What to know before it appears on Chatham County ballot in May
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