Good things come to those who wait‭ … ‬including SPLOST money

Enacted in 1985, the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax has been an invaluable tool for communities across Georgia to collect more revenue to invest in capital improvement projects. This 1 percent sales tax, that must be approved by voters, has helped keep dollars from other, traditional revenue streams, like property taxes, free to fund operations and other vital functions. 

Just over a decade later, in 1997, the option was given to school districts to ask voters for another penny on the dollar to fund infrastructure projects. Of course school systems compiled wish lists, jumped on board and asked for the five-year tax. 

We are approaching 40 years of the SPLOST experiment and a lot of good has come out of it. But there are a couple of things worth discussing when it comes to the tax. 

For starters, the SPLOSTs have not been allowed to expire. The tax has an expiration date for a reason. Give the consumers a break, assess needs and come back later. Instead we’re hit with a referendum every five years. Yes, there is always a need, but give the taxed masses a break, even a short one. 

Second, and more importantly, sometimes taxing authorities don’t want to wait for the money to trickle in over the life of the SPLOST and borrow against the collections by tacking on a bond initiative or taking a loan to get the money up front. There is nothing illegal or inherently wrong with the practice, as long as the collected income meets or exceeds the projections. 

Over the decades some Georgia counties and school systems have found themselves in a deep financial hole because they were a little impatient, none locally thankfully, but the risk is always there. 

On that note, a little impatience almost led to a questionable action by the Laurens County Board of Commissioners. At a recent board meeting the commission was set to vote on a $5 million loan to the Dublin-Laurens Recreation Authority to jump start an indoor sports complex project. 

The move was tucked away in the “other business” portion of the meeting and not publicly advertised. And they almost got away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky county attorney (see the Oct. 17 edition of The Courier Herald for the full story). It was good idea to pump the brakes on that financial transaction for the sake of transparency. 

However, we also recommend that the county reconsider the loan. Though a state-of-the-art indoor complex would certainly be another draw to Laurens County, bringing more people in to pay the sales tax, but the county has other needs that could be addressed as the board looks to burn through some extra cash. 

Our fire and public safety operations could use a boost, from staffing and payroll to equipment; there are always roads that need a facelift; and maybe additional programming for the new proposed senior center could be considered with the money instead.