Column by Tim Evans, President & CEO of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce
The Hall County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to call for a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum to be placed on the November 4, 2025 election ballot.
Hall County has had an active SPLOST program since 1985, funding major infrastructure, roads, public safety facilities and vehicles, parks, trails and libraries over the last 40 years.
Along with water and sewer infrastructure, vast road improvements, bridges, and upgrades in fire and emergency services, projects that have been funded through SPLOST over the last four decades include Elachee Nature Science Center, Sardis Creek Park, Highlands to Islands Multi-Use Trail, Chicopee Woods Agriculture Center, Hall County Detention Center, Animal Control Facility, South Hall and North Hall libraries, Health Department, North Hall Community Center, Gainesville/Hall County Senior Center, and so many more.
This SPLOST referendum is NOT a new tax – it is a RENEWAL of the current 1% sales tax used to fund capital outlay projects. If passed by Hall County voters, the proposed SPLOST program would be the ninth program of its kind for the County and would remain active for six years. It is estimated that some 40% of SPLOST dollars raised in Hall County come from out-of-county residents.
Lake Lanier attracts 14 million people to our county a year, and with patients and visitors to the Northeast Georgia Health System, students and families of our higher education facilities, and the many other commuters, visitors and travelers, we have a unique opportunity to collect sales tax dollars for projects throughout Gainesville-Hall County without placing the burden solely on property owners.
SPLOST IX is estimated to generate approximately $440 million, and would help fund several notable projects, including:
· New South Hall Park & Active Life Center, among other park
improvements and restoration projects
· Extension of the Highlands to Islands Multi-Use Trail System
· Judicial Complex expansion
· Spout Springs Road Widening Project Phase II
· Road resurfacing throughout Hall County
· Intersection improvements, specifically along McEver, Mount
Vernon and Joe Chandler roads
· A new Hall County Sheriff’s Office Training Center, along with
vehicle replacements and equipment
· Relocation and/or construction of a new fire station, along with
ambulance replacements and upgrades to the 911 system
· Allocation of $95 million to the nine municipalities in Hall County, based on population density
To learn more about SPLOST IX and why you should vote “YES,” visit hallcounty.org/398/SPLOST.