Politics & Government
Duluth Would Receive Estimated $14.5M in New SPLOST Funds
Duluth's estimated share of SPLOST funds would be the second largest of cities in Gwinnett.
By Steve Burns
Voters in Gwinnett County have yet to have their say -- that will come in a referendum vote on Nov. 5. But an agreement between county and city officials approved Tuesday (Aug. 6) already determines how funds from a three-year SPLOST extension starting in 2014 would be divided. Duluth would received an estimated $14.5 million.
The big numbers: 78.9 percent of the possible $498 million yield from the 1 percent sales tax would go to Gwinnett County. About 21.1 percent would go to the cities, with some going to the state for administrative costs. But Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash acknowledged Tuesday that the actual yield could be less.
But how would the the monies be divided per city? The answer -- by a formula based on population.
According to the intergovernmental agreement, each city's total yield would be based on this ratio: the population of each city relative to to the total population of all incorporated areas within Gwinnett County. Yes, that means the largest cities get the most funds. Duluth would receive the second largest amout.
So here are the estimated yields for each city:
Find out what's happening in Duluthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- Auburn: $109,000
- Berkeley Lake $1 million
- Braselton: $1.5 million
- Buford: $5.9 million
- Dacula: $2.3 million
- Duluth: $14.5 million
- Grayson: $1.3 million
- Lawrenceville: $14.9 million
- Lilburn: $6.7 million
- Loganville: $1.2 million
- Norcross: $7.8 million
- Peachtree Corners: $19.9 million
- Rest Haven: $16,640
- Snellville: $9.5 million
- Sugar Hill: $9.7 million
- Suwanee: $8 million.
Nash said that this is the toughest economy under which Gwinnett has launched a SPLOST program since it began in the 1980s.
"Our situation lags what happens in the general economy," the chairman said. She noted that even though the housing market may be rebounding, that may not make a difference in what an average family sees in income.
Nash explained that county officials decided on a three-year program (the current one is five years) because "a shorter time period allows us to be more concrete."
The Duluth City Council voted in a called meeting July 22 to enter into an agreement with the county to share funds from the proposed SPLOST extension.
Read the entire city-county SPLOST agreement here.
Duluth Patch Editor Faye Edmundson contributed to this article.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
