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News and Updates from
DeKalb Citizens Advocacy Council

February 17, 2023 Volume 4: Issue 2

Why do Proposed Changes to SPLOST Legislation Eliminate Spending Restrictions? Why Has the Process Lacked Transparency? A Call for Action

DeKalb legislators and citizens should be concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the changes being proposed in new SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) legislation. This important and complex legislation is being rushed and the process lacks transparency.

On Monday, February 13, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond appeared before the DeKalb House Delegation to speak about proposed legislation to:

  • renew the county’s SPLOST and

  • remove the existing spending restrictions from the previous SPLOST that ensured the dollars raised from this tax were spent as follows:

    • 85% for transportation purposes (including roads, streets, bridges, public transit) and public safety facilities and related capital equipment used to support public safety

    • 15% for the repair of capital projects

According to the CEO and his governmental affairs team (DENTON, Paramount Consulting, Delores Crowell), the bill is currently in the hands of the state’s legislative counsel. Once it is released by that office it will be made available to the House delegation and will need a delegation sponsor.

To the best of our knowledge, the bill has not been reviewed by, or discussed with, the Board of Commissioners; nor have any efforts been made to involve or educate the public about how funds from a renewed SPLOST should be spent.

Furthermore, there has been no “final” public accounting for the funds raised by the initial SPLOST. A review of the County’s SPLOST website has a post of a January 25, 2022, reporting on activities from April 2018 through December 2021, and a map showing a number of road resurfacing projects not yet started. Taxpayers deserve a more current report accounting for SPLOST funds spent on completed projects, funds allocated for projects in progress, and funds earmarked for projects not yet started. We should also understand which identified projects from SPLOST I remain unfunded.

In addition, how does SPLOST funding tie in with the County’s overall Capital Improvement Plan? Is there such a plan? What does the SPLOST Citizens Oversight Committee think? What projects do our community civic leaders think need to be funded? We know from the County’s Unified 2050 Plan that there are still substantial transportation investments that need to be made. Where is the dialogue between professional staff and citizens?

We think decision makers should tread carefully here. We do need to vote in November to renew the SPLOST, but we could renew it with the same language used previously. The restrictive language that is being deleted was important the first time around in gaining voter support. Why is it being eliminated now? Such a step certainly deserves more public dialogue, as does discussion about how new SPLOST funds will be used.

DeKalb taxpayers and our elected Commissioners should not be left out of the discussion. We need to know more about how these funds will be used.

If you agree, we suggest you contact your State Representative and State Senator, Rep. Karla Drenner (chair of the DeKalb House Delegation), Sen. Kim Jackson (chair of the DeKalb Senate Delegation), and,

if possible, other members of the Delegation immediately to stop any changes to this bill until public input has been obtained and an accounting of how previous SPLOST funds were used is made public. Their email addresses and fax numbers are available on the Georgia General Assembly’s website.

We will be following the bill’s progress and continuing to educate citizens about it.

News Flash: You can find a copy of the bill at this link.

We have learned that Rep. Karla Drenner is sponsoring the bill and that Crossover Day is on March 6. We don’t have much time to act. Remember: the only proposed amendment to the previous SPLOST legislation is the elimination of the restrictions (see Section N). Our immediate reaction is “How many blank checks should taxpayers write?”

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