On November 8, 2016, Gwinnett County voters approved the renewal of the one-cent SPLOST sales tax. The six-year program will start when the current program expires next March. It will raise an estimated $950 million for capital projects.

County and city officials have agreed to share SPLOST proceeds, with the County receiving 78.76 percent and cities getting 21.24 percent. The County will dedicate 65 percent of its share of the proposed SPLOST to transportation, including $30.8 million for joint city/county projects. Parks, public safety, civic center expansion, library relocation/renovation, and senior facilities will also get funds. To learn about the planned uses, please read the 2017 SPLOST fact sheet.

Public involvement

Input from county residents is an important component of SPLOST planning and oversight. A new citizens oversight committee will be set up to monitor the 2017 SPLOST program progress and review an annual audit of SPLOST program spending. In addition, a cities and the county will publish a SPLOST projects status report on their websites and in the newspaper by the end of each year.

On the planning side, the Citizens Project Selection Committee for transportation is made up of 11 representatives from eight major interest groups—homeowners, businesses, environmental, schools, civic organizations, freight/manufacturing, seniors, and young professionals – who were selected from among their peers to serve. The committee’s first assignment was to recommend how much money would be allocated among the different types of projects. Now that the SPLOST measure has passed, the group will get to work prioritizing projects. To learn more about the CPSC, click here.

To learn more about SPLOST in Gwinnett County, visit www.GwinnettSPLOST.com.