Monroe County Commissioners approved by a 4-0 vote on Tuesday, April 6 to begin the process of holding a countywide referendum on Nov. 2 on whether to enact a single-county penny Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST).
County Manager Jim Hedges was tasked at Commissioners’ February 12 board retreat to develop a 10-year road improvement plan that could be incorporated into the Public Works department budget. County Manager Hedges came up with a pair of options, the first of which incorporates an annual taxation of an additional 1.25 mills in property taxes to be dedicated to road maintenance over the next 10 years and the second of which includes the passage of a TSPLOST.
Under the first scenario, County Manager Hedges said Monroe County would receive just over $20 million in property taxes for road maintenance over the next 10 years. When combined with Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG) and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds, the county would have just under $37.4 million to spend on roads over 10 years. Under the assumption that it would cost $154,000 per mile to resurface based on a combination of patching, resurfacing and triple surfacing, the county would be able to resurface just under 243 miles of road over the next decade.
Under the second scenario, County Manager Hedges said Monroe County would receive just over $30.2 million in TSPLOST proceeds over the next 10 years. When combined with LMIG and SPLOST funds, the county would have just over $47.6 million to spend on roads over 10 years. Under the same assumption that it would cost $154,000 per mile to resurface, the county would be able to resurface just over 309 miles of road over the next decade.
That means TSPLOST would generate about $10.2 million in additional revenue over the next decade compared with a 1.25-mill property tax hike, which would allow for an additional 66 miles of paved roads. According to County Manager Hedges, the 309 resurfaced road mileage under the TSPLOST plan would allow for just under 81 percent of the county’s 383 total paved road miles to be repaired.
County Manager Hedges then presented a third less viable option. County Manager Hedges estimated that if Commissioners don’t raise the millage rate or if voters don’t support the passage of a TSPLOST, the county’s other option would be to trim 8.75 percent, which equates to about two mills (or the annual collection of just under $2.9 million projected via TSPLOST), off of the county’s annual operating budget. If the county cuts its operating budget by 8.75 percent, it would mean the equivalent service reduction of a closure of Monroe County Animal Services, the Monroe County Recreation Department, the Monroe County Library, all Monroe County Recycling Centers, and the Monroe County Convention Center. It would also mean the county would no longer contribute annually to the Development Authority of Monroe County or to Monroe County Hospital. And even if all of these cuts were made, it would still leave a road maintenance shortfall of about $130,000.
County Manager Hedges said Monroe County roads are in such dire need of resurfacing that more than 50 percent of all asphalt roads need immediate attention. County Manager Hedges determined that TSPLOST would bring in $4.6 million more in revenue over the next five years than a 1.25-mill ad valorem hike, which would mean 30 additional miles of road would be resurfaced. County Manager Hedges also noted that Cory Hull, Transportation and Environmental Director for the Southern Georgia Regional Commission, has said that about 50 percent of the revenue Monroe County would receive from TSPLOST would be generated from out-of-county residents thanks to I-75. With those factors in mind, County Manager Hedges recommended Commissioners put a single-county TSPLOST back on the ballot for countywide referendum in 2021 for the third consecutive year. The measure has failed by narrow margins in each of the past two years. If the TSPLOST passes in November 2021, it would take effect on April 1, 2022 and run for five years.
County Manager Hedges said he will present to Commissioners at their next scheduled meeting at 9 a.m. on April 20 a TSPLOST project list, which is a list of county roads in the most immediate need of resurfacing. The cities of Culloden and Forsyth, who would also collect a proportional amount of the total TSPLOST revenue, would also be tasked with creating TSPLOST project lists.
District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland said since Commissioners have no intention of closing down county departments, the serious options are to raise property taxes, hold another TSPLOST referendum or take no action and allow county roads to continue to deteriorate.
Commissioner Rowland said he feels it’s his duty as an elected commissioner to find a solution to a critical county problem.
Commissioner Rowland said, “If doing nothing is the answer, then I don’t need to be here because one of the most fundamental things that we do as Commissioners is to take care of our roads. And if we’re not going to take care of our roads, then we’re just not doing our job.”
However, Commissioner Rowland noted that Commissioners will have to set a 2021 millage rate by August 2021, prior to the scheduled referendum in November 2021. Both Commissioner Rowland and District 3 Commissioner John Ambrose each pointed out that in order for Commissioners to be able to begin resurfacing roads prior to TSPLOST collections beginning in April 2022, Commissioners will have to raise ad valorem taxes in 2021.
Commissioner Ambrose said, “We’re gonna have to raise taxes and then if the TSPLOST passes, then the next year we can roll that tax increase back.”
Commissioner Rowland said if the TSPLOST fails for the third straight time, it’s evidence that citizens have spoken and decided they’d rather have a property tax hike than pay the extra penny in sales tax.
While Commissioner Ambrose expressed concern about having the TSPLOST on the November ballot in what is not a traditional county election year, new District 1 Commissioner Lamarcus Davis said citizens who are passionate about the TSPLOST will make time to vote.
“If we put that TSPLOST out there and if people want it, then they will make themselves available to come vote,” Commissioner Davis said. “If not, then we’ve done our job, and if we have to raise the taxes, then we have to raise them. Simple as that. If you want your road fixed, you should make yourself available to come out and vote on Nov. 2.”
Commission Chairman Greg Tapley agreed with Davis and said the public is not getting the full picture from the “local media” on the positive aspects of the TSPLOST.
Chairman Tapley said, “We have let some of the local media mislead people in the past about how wrong this is when it’s really the most logical thing to do.”
Chairman Tapley also agreed with Commissioners Ambrose and Rowland that the Board has no choice but to raise property taxes in 2021 for road improvements.
Chairman Tapley said, “To get the roads repaired the way they need to be repaired and safe for our constituents and our children riding in school buses, we’ve got to get the work to get it done.”
Commissioner Rowland said as a taxpayer himself, he doesn’t want to raise property taxes but said it’s imperative due to public safety concerns over county roads.
“There is no alternative to fixing our roads,” Commissioner Rowland said. “We just have to do it.”
Commissioner Ambrose added that if TSPLOST passes, it would alleviate the tax burden considerably in future years on local property owners.
After about 15 minutes of discussion, Commissioner Davis motioned to begin the process of calling for a November 2, 2021 countywide TSPLOST referendum, which was seconded by Commissioner Rowland. Commissioners then approved the measure 4-0 with District 4 Commissioner George Emami absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
