Out of all the elections on the November ballot, the Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) of 1₵  is the vote that most strongly affects Fannin residents’ everyday life. This 1₵ sales tax goes to pay for projects to benefit the entire county such as roads, public safety, infrastructure, county buildings and taxpayer-supported community activities.  At the July 12^th Board of Commissioners meeting, Chairman Bill Simonds and Post-Commissioners Earl Johnson and Larry Sosebee set the revenue percentages that departments will receive on the upcoming SPLOST ballot. (Scroll to end of article to see SPLOST percentages.)

According to Georgia Law, Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Implementation timeline, Commissioners must provide a list of projects, the estimated cost of each project and the total time period of the tax levy at the time the Commissioners adopt a resolution for SPLOST.  On July 12^th, the Commissioners adopted a resolution calling for SPLOST.  The projects, for which Fannin county residents will pay 1₵ of every dollar spent shopping in Fannin County, are vague.

Rita Davis-Kirby, Chief Financial Officer for Fannin County, estimates that SPLOST will bring in $30,000,000 over the next six years.  Commissioners used this figure when deciding which departments, not projects, receive what share of the SPLOST pie.  Since Fannin County is a tourist destination, roughly 68% of SPLOT money comes from visitors and 32% from residents.

Road Department

57.9% ($17,370,000) will go to maintenance, repair and construction of roads, streets, bridges and sidewalks.  According to Ms. Davis-Kirby, each year the Commissioners approve priority paving list and road construction list. Roads move up in the list, but it is difficult to say which roads will be worked on first.  The timeline for building a road can get bogged down by negotiating easements with property owners and EPD approval.

At previous meetings, Chairman Simonds had spoken about bridgework that needed to be done, especially after the December storms.  When setting the SPLOST percentage, the Commissioners did not indicate the bridges that will be on the priority list.

Water Authority

7% ($2,100,000) will go to the Water Authority.  The Water Authority will use 5% to increase public water lines throughout the county.  2% will go to paying off a loan. Previously, the Water Authority had asked for 5%.  At the June 28^th Commissioners meeting.  Post-Commissioner Johnson said he wanted to add 2% so that the Water Authority can finish paying off its loan.  If there is a problem with the Water Authority, the costs will come back on the county said Mr. Johnson.

Public Safety

7% ($2,100,000) will go to public safety facilities and equipment. The new Fire Station #1 construction on Windy Ridge Road is being paid for in the current SPLOST, not the 2016 SPLOST referendum.

Part of the money will go to the Fire Department and EMA need to update and purchase equipment. Throughout winter and spring, the EMA and fire department have stated specific equipment needs of the departments.  Also, the EMA has talked about a 20% increase in calls over last year and told the Commissioners they expect the numbers to rise. The Commissioners made it very clear that providing money for public safety is a priority.  SPLOST revenue will also buy patrol cars, as the increase in Fannin’s population and tourism has caused increase in Sherriff Office’s responsibilities.

Animal Control also falls under Public Safety. In May, Post-Commissioner Johnson suggested using some SPLOST money to build a truck bay at the Animal Control Center.  Currently, when Animal Control brings in new dogs, the officers have to unload the nervous animals in the same room as the caged animals, which has the potential for a dangerous situation.  However, the Commissioners did not say how much this project would cost or if it is part of the SPLOST referendum

Recreation Equipment and Facilities

5% ($1,500,000) will go to the Recreation Department.  For what?  The Commissioners have not said.

In a previous meeting, Mr. Johnson brought up the awful state of public restrooms in Fannin’s County Parks.  In fact, Mr. Johnson suggested putting porta-potties up at Horseshoe Bend Park so that people can have a “better” experience than the existing restrooms.    As Mr. Johnson pointed out, the restrooms are at least two decades old and the pipes and equipment can’t deal with current amounts of park visitors.  Within the next year, Tammen Park, Curtis Switch and Horseshoe Bend will each have a boat launch.  TVA is already providing $15,000 worth of trash cans for the parks along the river because of anticipated increase in visitors. Not only that, within the past month, a car ran into one of the bathroom facilities at Tom Boyd Recreation Complex.  Also, according to Department Head presentations at meetings, restrooms at Tom Boyd Park can’t accommodate the amount of park visitors either. However, no estimated costs for restroom renovations have been given.  Nor, is there any indication that part of the $1,500,000 will go to restrooms.

No Fannin residents requested SPLOST money for the Recreation Department at the Board of Commissioners meetings or SPLOST workshop. Nor did the Recreation Director publically present his case for needing SPLOST funds.

It hasn’t been one year since the Recreation Department’s financial scandal.  The former Recreation Department Director had to quit due to accusations that he took Recreation Department funds and put it into his own bank account.  Sources tell FetchYourNews that it’s unsure how much county money the former director put into his account.  The state-led investigation is ongoing.  According to current Recreation Director John Scalera, the department is still reconciling its books.  Mr. Scalera said that starting this fall, the Recreation Department will find out the revenue that its sports programs bring in versus the programs’ costs.  The current Recreation Department’s operating budget is approximately $700,000.

Capital Outlay

10.5% ($3,150,000) will go to solving the parking problem downtown.  The Commissioners have heard loud and clear from all areas of the county that parking around the Courthouse is a headache.  They intended to do something about the parking with money from the 2016 SPLOST.

So, the Commissioners decided on two projects to free up approximately 72 spaces of street parking.  – an administration satellite office and a parking deck.  The problem is, estimated costs were not shared with the public.  Voters don’t know if $3,150,000 is sufficient for just one or both of the projects.

Also, the proposed projects are like double-dipping to solve the same problem – free up parking downtown.  If the Commissioners go with an administrative building, it frees up approximately 60 employee spaces and plans for the future.  The Courthouse is running out of space for the courts and the county departments are running out of space for their offices.  If the Commissioners go for a parking deck, the parking space problem is solved, but the court house and office space problem is not solved.

Read what Fannin County Courthouse employees think about a new administrative building.

City of Blue Ridge

7% ($2,100,000) will go to Blue Ridge for roads, water and sewer and capital outlay.  Before the Commissioners made their final decision, Mayor Whitener asked the Commissioners to reconsider a larger percentage for Blue Ridge.  Mayor Whitener presented a list which included $80,000 for the city pool and $3.5 million upgrade for water and sewer system in the city.  Right now, problems with the wastewater treatment in Blue Ridge have caused the City to issue water safety warnings this year.  Mayor Whitener believes that the City will soon need a “waste refrigerator” for the system because the waste temperature that the plant releases in the water is higher than allowed.  These cost between $300,000 and $500,000.  She anticipates these costs coming within the next few years.  The Commissioners were not swayed by the numbers and went with the percentage they talked about in an earlier meeting.

The Commissioners have agreed in earlier SPLOST workshops that Blue Ridge is the economic driver of Fannin County.  According to Mayor Whitener’s presentation, out of the 9,000 Fannin residents which work in the county, 4,500 come to Blue Ridge to work.

McCaysville

5.6% ($1,680,000) goes to McCaysville for roads, public service equipment and water and sewer.

Library

Library supporters feel that the Commissioners have avoided their requests. Both Post-Commissioner Sosebee and Johnson have encouraged residents to bring their SPLOST ideas to the Commission and discuss them in the SPLOST workshops.  Some residents did.  Since February, over 15 people have asked the Board of Commissioners for 6.6% ($2,000,000) go towards a new library. Residents who want upgrades at the Animal Control Facility are the only other residents who requested SPLOST funds during Public Comments at the Commissioners meeting and SPLOST Workshops.

Early on, several library supporters suggested building a combination county administrative building/library.  Combining the two would be cheaper than building each separately. Mr. Johnson did not acknowledge this idea when he talked about using SPLOST to finance an administration building.

Library supporters are particularly irritated with Chairman Simonds.  Mr. Simonds promised to build a new library when he ran for his post in 2008.  They feel that he has not even tried to evaluate various ways to finance a library, either through SPLOST or other tax collections. Also, library supporters point out that the Fannin County Comprehensive Plan, which is in effect from 2005 until 2025, has the implementation measures that the county will construct a new, free-standing library with a minimum of 22,000 square feet.

The Commissioners’ answer has always been that people will not vote yes for SPLOST if a library is on the ballot.  They fear having the library on SPLOST will cause the county to lose money for roads.

However, data does not support their thinking.  The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, which guides counties in setting up SPLOST ballots, has data on what kind of ballots pass or fail.    First SPLOST ballots have 98.7% chance of passing the first time, regardless of what is on them.  Between 2004-2009, all 152 Georgia counties held SPLOST referendums.  Only five counties did not pass SPLOST.  However, the next year, three of those counties, voted for SPLOST again, and it passed.  Between 2004-2009, at least 19 counties had a library on the SPLOST ballot.  All 19 counties passed SPLOST at the first vote.

According to the motions the Board of Commissioners made at the July 12^th meeting, the 2016 SPLOST ballot percentages are set.  It is too late to change items since the ballot must be finalized 90 days prior to October 11th, the first day of early-voting in 2016 November elections.  SPLOST receives a yes/no vote.  Voters cannot vote yes for one project on the ballot and no for another project.  If a SPLOST referendum fails, Commissioners can change the items on SPLOST and put it up for a vote the next year.  If SPLOST passes, the Commissioners cannot set another SPLOST referendum until 2022.