Dougherty County Commission approves T-SPLOST referendum

ALBANY — In a 5-1 vote on Thursday morning, the Dougherty County Commission approved a T-SPLOST referendum that will now go to the Dougherty County Elections Board.

District 5 Commissioner Gloria Gaines was the sole dissenter, and District 1 Commissioner Lamar Hudgins was not present for the special called meeting to decide the matter. The referendum is expected to appear as the sole item on a March 19 special election ballot.

Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas, District 2 Commissioner Victor Edwards, District 3 Commissioner Clinton Johnson, District 4 Commissioner Russell Gray and District 6 Commissioner Anthony Jones voted in favor of the referendum.

If voters approve the measure on March 19, it is anticipated that about $80 million will be brought in over a five-year period through the 1 percent tax. Of that, about $26.4 million would be for county transportation projects, while $53.6 million would be earmarked for city of Albany projects.

County Attorney Spencer Lee went over the proposed intergovernmental agreement between the County Commission and the Albany City Commission, answering questions from county commissioners before the vote Thursday.

Jones, who initially expressed opposition to a T-SPLOST referendum, has been holding town hall meetings to discuss the matter.

“(Voters) need to look ahead to whether they (want it or not),” he said. “We have educated; we have not advocated, but educated. They will have to do research and soul searching to make a decision.”

Jones said citizens can go to the county’s website or contact their respective commissioner for further information. He said it is likely he will host one more town hall meeting prior to the vote.

The proposed intergovernmental agreement for T-SPLOST is authorizing a 1 percent sales and usage tax for the five-year period to be used specifically for transportation needs throughout the city and county. Most of the additional revenue would be generated by people visiting from outside the city.

A 67-33 revenue split for the city and county, respectively, was agreed upon. The city had asked for a 70-30 split.

While the city wanted a T-SPLOST fairly early, county commissioners were not as enthusiastic — indicating very strongly that they were not willing to consider it. A 3-mill property tax rate hike in August for the county was partly what led Hudgins and Jones to call T-SPLOST a “non-starter” when it was first brought up for discussion in November.

Roadway improvements, multipurpose trails, alley paving, sidewalk installation, road striping, signage, intersection improvements, traffic calming, unpaved streets, railroad crossing improvements, roadway widening, traffic signals and pedestrian upgrades, traffic control center upgrades, sidewalk improvements and improvements to the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport are among the possible projects on the table.

Jennifer Parks