T-SPLOST will give more than our money’s worth

One week ago Albany State hosted a T-SPLOST informational session. The Q&A event was coordinated through the ASU History and Political Science Club.

The event turnout was strong, filling the Albany State West Campus seminar room with more than 50 people, including many residents. City administrators poured over a brief slide show and separated the SPLOST from the T-SPLOST, explaining project separations alongside the budget for the detailed transportation and special purpose tax referendum.

Both our city and county administrators listened to concerned questions and opinions of county and city residents. Mr. Micheal McCoy and Mr. Barry Brooks helped frame a great discussion, assuring residents and voters that this referendum is a tremendous community re-investment, as proposed by the state legislature. The administrators also brought along an engineer versed in design and codification to help answer questions.

As early voting ends and Election Day approaches, skepticism lingers for an isolated ballot referendum with significant impact. Low voter turnout may be marked by lack of interest or the insistent trend of surrounding communities that are already benefiting from the passed tax.

As a student, I observed up close the bigger picture of ballot referendums. Future figures generated by this tax are notable, but more importantly, the benefits of these projects meet immediate and growing community needs. Our HAPS Club is excited. There are a few awesome projects that this tax will help that will be catalysts for our university and overall city development.

As T-SPLOST passes at the polls and these benefits come to fruition, I know more residents will look to become engaged in the community. I believe we’re going to get much more than our money’s worth in return.

Lizzie Hale

Albany State University