How’s the old saying go about you can put a ribbon on a pig, but that doesn’t change the fact it’s still a pig?
That’s pretty much how I feel about the six-year extension last week of the Special Local Option Sales Tax in Barrow County.
Folks, you can call it “fair” or “the only way to do it” or anything else you want, but the truth is, it’s still a tax. As a working man who values every penny of the paycheck he receives, I’m taxed enough already and that’s why I voted against the SPLOST renewal. It’s just not in my nature to vote another tax upon myself.
[Full Story »]
Barrow voters approve SPLOST renewal
In a vote with high stakes for local governments but low voter turnout, the few Barrow County residents who did take the time to go to the polls today gave overwhelming support to the six-year renewal of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
Only 3.5 percent of the county's 34,598 registered voters participated in the single-issue special election. They voted by a margin of 4:1 to extend the 1-percent local-government sales tax from July 1, 2012-June 30, 2018.
With the "Yes" votes outnumbering the "No" votes at all 16 of the county's polling places, the countywide vote was 959 (80.12%) to 238 (19.88%). Four provisional ballots also were cast, but the Barrow County Board of Elections and Registration will not decide until Friday whether to allow them to be included in the final tally. [Full Story »]
Only 3.5 percent of the county's 34,598 registered voters participated in the single-issue special election. They voted by a margin of 4:1 to extend the 1-percent local-government sales tax from July 1, 2012-June 30, 2018.
With the "Yes" votes outnumbering the "No" votes at all 16 of the county's polling places, the countywide vote was 959 (80.12%) to 238 (19.88%). Four provisional ballots also were cast, but the Barrow County Board of Elections and Registration will not decide until Friday whether to allow them to be included in the final tally. [Full Story »]
SPLOST campaign lackluster so far; but county debt looms
With the March 15 referendum on a proposed six-year extension of the county’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax only weeks away, the issue has yet to generate much political activity – either for or against.
That could change Monday, Feb. 21, when Barrow County commission chairman Danny Yearwood addresses the Barrow County Republican Party on the topic. Yearwood is the main speaker for the 7:30 p.m. meeting that will be held at the Winder Woman’s Club building at 15 W. Midland Ave.
While every local government in Barrow County is depending on the six-year extension for the funding of needed capital improvements or equipment, the county government has the most at stake in whether the measure passes or fails in four weeks.
That is because the previous administration in 2005 set into motion a decades-long repayment plan utilizing about $4 million a year in SPLOST proceeds to pay back the $58 million in bonds issued for the construction of major projects, including the Barrow County Criminal Justice Center, the new fire headquarters and Station 6, and the renovation of the old courthouse facilities in downtown Winder.
If the penny sales tax were not renewed, the more than $4 million in annual debt payments would have to come from the county government’s General Fund. [Full Story »]
That could change Monday, Feb. 21, when Barrow County commission chairman Danny Yearwood addresses the Barrow County Republican Party on the topic. Yearwood is the main speaker for the 7:30 p.m. meeting that will be held at the Winder Woman’s Club building at 15 W. Midland Ave.
While every local government in Barrow County is depending on the six-year extension for the funding of needed capital improvements or equipment, the county government has the most at stake in whether the measure passes or fails in four weeks.
That is because the previous administration in 2005 set into motion a decades-long repayment plan utilizing about $4 million a year in SPLOST proceeds to pay back the $58 million in bonds issued for the construction of major projects, including the Barrow County Criminal Justice Center, the new fire headquarters and Station 6, and the renovation of the old courthouse facilities in downtown Winder.
If the penny sales tax were not renewed, the more than $4 million in annual debt payments would have to come from the county government’s General Fund. [Full Story »]
SPLOST project list gets agreement
Monday, October 11. 2010
County and municipal officials have found common ground on an issue of great importance to each of their jurisdictions – the continuation of the penny Special Purpose Option Local Sales Tax.
The new SPLOST cycle is not scheduled to begin until the summer of 2012, but officials are trying to get the issue before voters as early as March 2011 so that if it fails, there would be time for a second vote before the current six-year cycle ends in June 2012.
The issue is vital to the local governments because the nation’s economic downturn has wiped out other sources of revenue for capital projects.
While in the current political climate voters may be inclined to oppose the renewal of the tax, the reality is that local property owners already are on the hook for the $6 million in annual debt payments that are to be funded from each year’s SPLOST revenues. [Full Story »]
The new SPLOST cycle is not scheduled to begin until the summer of 2012, but officials are trying to get the issue before voters as early as March 2011 so that if it fails, there would be time for a second vote before the current six-year cycle ends in June 2012.
The issue is vital to the local governments because the nation’s economic downturn has wiped out other sources of revenue for capital projects.
While in the current political climate voters may be inclined to oppose the renewal of the tax, the reality is that local property owners already are on the hook for the $6 million in annual debt payments that are to be funded from each year’s SPLOST revenues. [Full Story »]
Recycled signs promote SPLOST spending
Wednesday, September 22. 2010
In an effort to show Barrow County citizens how their tax dollars are being spent, approximately 30 SPLOST signs are being erected throughout the county.
The signs, which had been in storage, have been placed at both the old and new courthouses. According to Barrow County accountant Beverly Dunbar, the county currently has a list of approximately 40 places where they intend to install the recycled signs.
The signs, which read “Barrow County Growing Strong — Here Are Your SPLOST Dollars in Action,” were a topic of conversation at a Sept. 8 meeting between county and city officials in which the proposed SPLOST referendum slated for Spring of 2011 was discussed. [Full Story »]
The signs, which had been in storage, have been placed at both the old and new courthouses. According to Barrow County accountant Beverly Dunbar, the county currently has a list of approximately 40 places where they intend to install the recycled signs.
The signs, which read “Barrow County Growing Strong — Here Are Your SPLOST Dollars in Action,” were a topic of conversation at a Sept. 8 meeting between county and city officials in which the proposed SPLOST referendum slated for Spring of 2011 was discussed. [Full Story »]
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