The City of Douglas, Douglas – Coffee County Chamber and Economic Development Authority and Coffee County Commission would like to encourage citizens to vote in the upcoming election on Tuesday, March 21, 2017. The S.P.L.O.S.T. referendum will be on the ballot when citizens vote in the March 21 election.
S.P.L.O.S.T. is the acronym for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and is a financing method for funding capital outlay projects in the city and county. It is an optional 1% sales tax collected by the county for the purpose of funding capital projects including equipment, roads, and other public facilities. The revenue generated cannot be used towards operating expenses. A S.P.L.O.S.T. is voted up or down by residents in a referendum. Since Douglas and Coffee County have an intergovernmental agreement, S.P.L.O.S.T. can last 6 years and begins and ends with a full calendar quarter. At that time, if funds are still needed, it must be voted upon again. Each S.P.L.O.S.T. has defined projects on which the money must be used. By law, the County has control of S.P.L.O.S.T. funds, however, the cities in the county may have projects that are considered in the S.P.L.O.S.T. Budget.
The projects included in the upcoming S.P.L.O.S.T. include roads, streets and bridge improvements, public safety improvements, county/city building improvements, public works and water/sewer improvements, and recreation improvements in Coffee County, Ambrose, Broxton, Douglas, and Nicholls; technology improvements for Coffee County, Douglas, Broxton, and Nicholls; industrial park development in Coffee County; and airport improvements in Douglas. Total funds expected to be generated from the proposed S.P.L.O.S.T. will be an estimated amount of $34,000,000 for the projects.
“Because Coffee County already has S.P.L.O.S.T. in effect, if a citizen chooses to vote yes, sales tax will not increase, it will continue at the current rate of 7% for six more years which will help our progressive community to thrive,” says Mayor Tony Paulk. “S.P.L.O.S.T., in my opinion, is a “smart” choice because everyone pays this penny sales tax, even visitors to Coffee County. People who are traveling through Coffee County and make purchases will be helping our community improve our quality of life.”
If the S.P.L.O.S.T. referendum passes, it will take effect on April 1, 2018. Early voting is taking place February 27 through March 17 at the Elections Office located at 224 West Ashley Street. Election Day will be March 21, 2017. On Election Day, polls will open at 7am and will close at 7pm at all voting precincts in Douglas and Coffee County. For more information regarding S.P.L.O.S.T., please call 912-384-1873. For election or precinct information, call the Coffee County Election Office at 912-384-7018.
