What road improvements and capital projects should Henry County complete in its next SPLOST program? The county’s SPLOST VI committee will hold its final meeting on Monday, June 10. Their meeting is at the Henry County office starting at 6:30 pm.
SPLOST VI would be a one-percent sales tax if voters approve it in November. Proceeds must pay for new construction and capital projects.
Final SPLOST VI Meeting
The Henry County SPLOST VI committee began meeting in January 2024. Now, their work is almost complete. The committee is charged to recommend county projects for the next SPLOST program. They will adopt their recommendations on Monday night.
Afterwards, the project list goes to the board of commissioners for consideration. The BOC may modify or amend the project list as they so choose. The county board must adopt a final project list before the end of summer.
In addition, the county commissioners and cities have an upcoming joint meeting. The meeting date is TBA. The board & city councils must meet to discuss the SPLOST program. Specifically, they must discuss whether to approve an intergovernmental agreement. If the county and cities adopt an IGA, then they can ask the voters for a six-year SPLOST program. Otherwise, they are limited to five years.
The intergovernmental agreement would outline how tax collections shall be split between the county and cities. Without an IGA, the collections default to a population-based split under state law. Presently, Henry County makes up about 65% of the population in unincorporated areas. The cities comprise the remaining 35%.
Estimated Collections & Revenue Split
Henry County finance staff estimates a five-year program would collect $380 million. They estimate a six-year program would generate $470 million. County staff are recommending the county receive 68% of collections. The cities would then divide the rest.
A 68% county / 32% city split would look like the following:
5-Year 6-Year County $256.4 M $319.6 M Cities $123.6 M $150.4 M Total $380 M $470 M
Henry County staff shared their recommendations during a committee workshop meeting on Tuesday, June 4. Based on the above estimates, Henry County staff proposes to split the county collections between transportation projects and capital projects. Capital projects include categories such as public safety, parks & recreation, and public works.
Henry County staff proposed the following:
5-Year Program
- Transportation Projects: $175 M
- Capital Projects: $78.4 M
- Program Management: $5 M
- Total: $256.4 M
6-Year Program
- Transportation Projects: $216.4 M
- Capital Projects: $96.8 M
- Program Management: $6.4 M
- Total: $319.6 M
All values are in millions of dollars.
The SPLOST committee may change these distributions before making their recommendations. They will also adopt projects for inclusion within each category. MHF News will share the committee’s full recommendations following their final meeting.
For the latest updates on current SPLOST projects, visit our SPLOST archives.
Featured image shows a four-lane road and SPLOST VI road sign. Georgia DOT photo / Sign Maker by Brendon Strowe sign.
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