With a lengthy list of hoped-for projects in front of them, officials from Effingham County and the three municipalities agreed to forge ahead with another round of special purpose local option sales tax.
The current SPLOST is set to expire in 2012 and is capped at $50 million, though County Administrator David Crawley projected receipts will fall short of that mark.
And they don’t figure the next SPLOST, if approved by voters, will come to close to funding all the things they want to get accomplished.
“We’ve got more projects than we do money,” said Springfield City Manager Brett Bennett.
Municipal representatives and county commissioners agreed to continue with a five-year SPLOST to coincide with the Effingham Board of Education, which also wants to put forth another five-year SPLOST. With this method, the county and cities are capped by the level they set or the five years, whichever comes first.
They could have chosen a six-year collection cycle, which would have allowed them to collect until the six years was up. But they also would have to be more specific in their goals for SPLOST-funded projects.
“It makes good sense to get together and do some sort of planning,” Crawley said.
Commissioners and county staff told city officials they want to make a new jail a priority. They suggested taking that project off the top, meaning it would be a project supported by all entities. A new jail could cost $12 million. The current jail — built as a result of a court order — has been plagued with problems since its opening.
“Our facility is having some significant problems,” Crawley said. “It is in dire need of replacement or serious renovation.”
The county has identified more than $166 million in transportation projects, $50 million in building work, $13.4 million in recreation projects and $3.9 million in assorted projects. Rincon has a wish list that includes $17.8 million for public works, $14.5 million for work at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, $2.3 million for public safety, $4.3 million for recreation and a combined $5.6 million for new water and sewer lines.
Rincon also wants to build a new city hall, at an estimated cost of $5.4 million, and a gymnasium is part of its recreation plans. Part of its public works plans could include work on the proposed east-west corridor through the Research Forest Tract.
Springfield has identified a few projects, including the planned park promenade it will accomplish in conjunction with the county.
“We’ve got some old water and sewer lines that need to be replaced,” Bennett said.
The city also wants to improve its gateway, so drivers on Highway 21 will know where Springfield is, Bennett said, and they also want to complete their sidewalks, “so we don’t have sidewalks to nowhere,” he added.
Springfield also wants to complete its streetscape project. The city has grant money available now, but Bennett questioned how much longer such aid from the state Department of Transportation would be accessible.
Guyton Mayor Michael Garvin said his city has road projects and water and sewer improvements it wishes to make.
But county and city officials know that their SPLOST wish lists are going to have be pared down.
“We’ve all got some prioritizing to do,” Bennett said.
The current SPLOST receipts are divided up on a population basis, and the next round, if voters give it the go-ahead, also will be split up on a per capita scale. The current Census, to be completed later this year, will be used to determine the population levels. Its final results should be ready by the time the next SPLOST would go into effect.
