Dear Editor,

Newton County voters will decide many important political races on Nov. 8, 2022.  And, we will even get to decide whether to continue to tax ourselves for another six years. That’s because extension of the 1-cent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, is on the ballot. This time, the vote is during a general election when a large number of voters will decide the question unlike in the March 2017 SPLOST special election when only 4.3% of Newton voters went to the polls.  

The new 2023 SPLOST is projected to generate $108 million over the next six years.  County government will receive about $84.6 million of that with the five cities receiving the remainder. The list of projects and their estimated cost has been well publicized, but do we need to extend the SPLOST tax now to get some of these projects underway? I don’t think so because extra funds are available from the 2017 SPLOST and other sources. 

The list of projects for the 2017 SPLOST includes the usual mix of obviously needed things like debt retirement, road improvements, and government building renovations.  But, there are also nice-to-have projects like parks and “improvements” in specific county commissioner’s districts.  Look closely at the 2023 SPLOST and you will see similar questionable projects like another $1 million for Commissioner Henderson’s Nelson Heights Center, and a $5 million park for a different commissioner.

The 2017 SPLOST was projected to bring in $64.8 million through June 2023. So, how much is the current SPLOST generating?  According to county financial data, the current SPLOST is expected to bring in $98 million when it ends in June 2023, meaning an extra $33 million will be available. That sounds like a windfall of money to me! How can it be best spent? Well, no worries there. The county commissioners already have plans for the excess money.  Here are some examples. The West Side Youth Facility budgeted in the 2017 SPLOST for $495,427 now has an increased budget of $4.25 million — eight times the cost originally shown to voters. District 2 improvements also budgeted at $495,427 now has a new cost of $1.25 million. Senior Services expansion and the Washington Street Center each got another $1 million added to the cost stated on the 2017 ballot. Also, the Springhill Park’s budget was increased by $3 million!  The picture is clear. The extra funds being brought in are being quickly snapped up by our county commission.

It seems that the cost of projects the voters were shown for the 2017 SPLOST were just “guessimates,” and I think misleading ones.  While only 2,004 citizens voted in 2017 to approve the SPLOST project list at costs specified on the ballot, would even that few number have approved those projects at a cost two to eight times those amounts?  That is a good question.

What about the new 2023 SPLOST proposal? Do voters understand that the costs shown on this Nov. 8 ballot are only rough estimates?  Do they know that the county and cities could spend the extra $33 million from the 2017 SPLOST for many like projects on the 2023 list? It is doubtful that most know that the county still has over $1 million in excess revenue from the 2011 SPLOST and over $4 million in the impact fee fund also available.

 These excess funds should be spent in ways that would postpone the need for the SPLOST tax to continue in 2023.  If you agree, vote NO when you cast your Nov. 8 ballot. 

Larry McSwain

Covington