Proponents of Habersham County’s proposed 1% special local option sales tax referendum say voter trust and turnout are crucial to the measure’s success.
That was the message delivered to a small group of residents and city leaders who gathered in Baldwin last night for a town hall meeting. It was the third in a series of nine scheduled public meetings aimed at educating the public about and promoting the passage of SPLOST VI, which will be on the ballot November 4th.
If approved by voters, SPLOST VI will allow Habersham County to levy a 1% local option sales tax to fund a wide range of county and municipal projects. It will raise the current sales tax rate from six to seven per cent and will remain in effect for six years (March 15, 2015-March 15, 2021). SPLOST VI will generate an expected $37.4 million in revenue, the bulk of which – $26.1 million or 70% – will go toward funding major county projects. Those projects include repayment of hospital bonds, road construction and repair, purchasing and upgrading public safety equipment and economic development. Municipalities in Habersham County will also receive tax dollars to support specific projects within their city limits.
A similar measure was defeated by voters last year driven, in part, by the populist, anti-tax Tea Party movement and backlash from voters who expressed concern over how previous SPLOST funds were used. SPLOST VI Committee member, Wade Rhodes, says he understands the public’s concerns and says trust is the key to passing this year’s SPLOST referendum. “If there’s anything negative,” Rhodes says, “it’s that people do not trust things of the past.” In an effort to earn the public’s trust the SPLOST Committee is putting together an Oversight Committee. Rhodes says the committee, “…will not have power other than to report to the people (through the media) that this is the money that came in, it went to these different cities or the county, and these are the projects it’s being spent on.”
Rhodes adds low voter turnout in November 2013 also contributed to the first SPLOST VI referendum’s defeat. Out of Habersham County’s 18,649 registered voters only 2,783 people – or 15% – cast ballots. Of those ballots cast 1,268 supported SPLOST while 1,515 opposed it. That’s a 247 vote margin, a margin slim enough that SPLOST supporters say they believe it can be overcome if more voters go to the polls. “Our goal is 40% voter turnout,” Rhodes says.
Supporters of the special local option sales tax call it the “fairest” tax because it spreads the tax burden among county residents and visitors. Rhodes asks, “Why should just the people who live here and pay property taxes have to pay to keep our roads and bridges safe?” Some at last night’s meeting agree but not everyone is sold on the idea of bringing back the penny-on-the-dollar tax. One observer, who asked not to be identified, says he has concerns about spending money on Habersham Medical Center. “A few months ago they told us the hospital was in the red and now it’s making money.” He says now he’s not sure who, or what, to believe.
One reason HMC is now in the black is because the County Commission assumed the Hospital Authority’s $37 million in bond debt back in July. The County is purchasing the hospital facilities and grounds through the issue of new bonds and SPLOST VI is part of the repayment plan. Habersham County Manager, Phil Sutton, says if SPLOST passes the county will use $7.5 million of it to pay down 20% of the county’s overall hospital debt. He says doing that would reduce a potential property tax hike by 1.8 mills. If SPLOST VI fails, then, he says, “It’s pretty dim. It’s almost $4 million a year worth of projects. Some of them we wouldn’t do, couldn’t do. The economic development projects would just go away. Those that we absolutely have to get done in the first year it would be a nearly 2 mill increase…and the following year if we still didn’t get SPLOST it would be another mill (increase).” Sutton calculated those figures at the request of Habersham County Commission Chairman, Chad Henderson, to help commissioners – and the public – understand the potential impact of SPLOST VI on property owners.
Despite the potentially negative impact on property owners if SPLOST VI fails to pass, those working to insure its success remain hopeful. “Most of our meetings have been very positive,” Rhodes says. “When people understand that the services they expect as a citizen – fire protection, police, ambulance, hospital, roads and bridges being safe – they understand those are services that everybody should pay for not just property owners.”
The next SPLOST VI town hall meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, September 23, at 6:00 p.m. in the Cornelia Municipal Court Room (2nd floor of the Fire Station). You can find a complete list of upcoming SPLOST VI meeting dates here on nowhabersham.com or visit the Habersham County Chamber of Commerce website for more information.
