No deal on SPLOST, PTC Council says

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Members of Peachtree City’s City Council were shocked to learn County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn thought an agreement had been reached on the county’s proposed Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for road improvements.

At Thursday night’s council meeting, Mayor Steve Brown shared a letter from Dunn that indicated Peachtree City had agreed to a 70-30 split with the county, with 30 percent of the SPLOST revenues going for city transportation projects.

Council voted to send back a priority list of city transportation projects to be funded with the SPLOST, but with a letter to Dunn saying there was no agreement on the distribution percentages.

Council also agreed they would agree to compromise with the county by backing a more equitable 60-40 split of the SPLOST revenues.

“To say I’m opposed to a 70-30 split is an understatement,” said councilman Steve Rapson.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford added, “The door is open to continued negotiation.”

A new law passed by the legislature takes affect on that date which forces Georgia counties to be more equitable with cities when it comes to SPLOST revenue distribution, the mayor said.

“Under the old guidelines, they have the option to take anything off the list ... as they see fit,” Brown said.