Public Can Attend County-Cities SPLOST Meeting

As Gwinnett County and its cities formally begin the SPLOST process in 2013, a question for taxpayers:

How much would it cost?

Gwinnett County's current 1 cent per dollar Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax expires in 2013, after going into effect in 2009. As such, elected officials from the county and its 16 cities plan to meet Tuesday (June 4) in Lawrenceville to begin the process of possibly calling for a referendum on renewing the tax.

Tuesday's meeting (3:30 p.m.) is open to the public. It will be at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center.

For taxpayers, there would be no additional burden if (a) it indeed comes to a vote in November and (b) if voters then approve an extension. The 1 percent figure already is built into the county's financial infrastructure.

How much would taxpayers save if it is allowed to expire, or is voted down? For every $500 in taxable purchases, a taxpayer would notice $5 in savings.

The current Gwinnett SPLOST program has generated about $500 million in revenue (about $11.1 million per month) through December 2012, according to county figures.

Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash has noted that Gwinnett SPLOST funds have to be spent in the county. Also, city and county leaders would have to be in accord on how the funds would be spent before calling for a public vote, and would have to disclose that agenda publicly.

Duluth officials have formulated a potential list of SPLOST projects and figures for the anticipated revenue from the sales tax extension.

~ Suwanee Patch