Friday, January 12, 2001
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Friday, January 12, 2001 |
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Sales tax vote is March By JOHN THOMPSON Circle March 20 on your calendar. That's the date the Coweta County school officials are saying could save taxpayers $22 million. The board unanimously gave approval Tuesday night to call for a special purpose local option sales tax vote. The tax would start in 2002, after the current tax ends, and would run through 2007. School board officials estimate $94.3 million would be raised to build a new middle school, two elementary schools and renovations at all of the schools. But more importantly, officials said, the tax also would make the school system debt free in 2008. Merchant Capital's Jamie Wilson said a provision of the state law governing SPLOSTs allows school systems to use them to reduce existing debt. Chairman Mike Sumner said the system would have loved to have done this in 1997, but had too many projects to complete. Wilson said if the tax is passed, the board would be able to lower the property tax rate for bonded indebtedness from 2.25 mills to 1.5 mills this year. From 2002 to 2007, the millage rate would be lowered to one mill and in 2008, the school system would have no debt. If the bonds are payed off early, Wilson said the system would wipe out $19 million in principal and $3 million in interest. If the tax passes, Wilson said the school system could start construction on the projects this summer instead of waiting until collection of the tax begins in 2002. The school system would float about $45 million in bonds to pay for the new projects and those bonds would be paid off by the school tax. "Not very many systems can do this. Most are overwhelmed by capital projects," Wilson said. The school board members were very enthusiastic about the proposal. "This is a way to shift the burden from property tax payers to sales tax payers," said board member Rick Melville. Board member Bill Covington jokingly said the tax would provide "some use out of all that traffic on Bullsboro." Chairman Mike Sumner said there would be naysayers out there, but urged all school board members to get out the message.
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