Why Vote “YES” for SPLOST VI?
By Chamber Chairman R.K. Whitehead, Whitehead Die Casting
Vote “YES” for SPLOST on Tuesday, March 17. Here’s why…The Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, offers something for everyone in Hall County. It allows Hall County and its municipalities to keep up with our population growth and the demands for new roads, water and sewer lines, parks, libraries and buildings. SPLOST is not a new tax and does NOT cause our property taxes to increase. Hall County has the second lowest property tax of any county around Atlanta BECAUSE our citizens have passed the SPLOST one-cent sales tax since 1985. Without SPLOST, our property tax would surely be higher.
SPLOST is the most sensible way to fund a wide range of crucial infrastructure and capital-project needs. It’s a fair tax for all, as everyone pays this penny sales tax, NOT just property owners. At least 40% of sales tax in Gainesville-Hall County is paid by residents of other counties who come here to work, play and shop.
SPLOST VI Supports VISION 2030 15 Big Ideas
Hall County officials along with the Greater Hall Chamber’s VISION 2030 citizen groups worked to develop a project list to meet the needs of our government AND the community. These Big Ideas were developed by the citizens of Gainesville-Hall County after months of community meetings with citizen input and discussion. These VISION 2030 initiatives are a direct result of the voices of the people of our community. Eight of the 15 Big Ideas expressed by our community in the VISION 2030 process will be funded by SPLOST VI:
1. Downtown Hotel and Conference Center – Gainesville has included funding to make way for a new center by relocating the Public Safety Building and Fire Station #1 to a new midtown location.
2. Culture of Wellness – Hall County is investing $21 million in parks to help support cultural wellness through recreation.
3. Green Street Post Office – SPLOST VI contains partial funding for relocating the post office.
4. Green Space Initiative – Parks, green space and connectivity between major park facilities
5. Healthcare Center of North Georgia – To fund roads and sewer utilities needed for the new hospital, along with other healthcare and economic development projects in South Hall.
6. Visitors Center – A new center to be placed at the intersection of I-985 and Mundy Mill Road at Exit 16 in Oakwood.
7. Gainesville By-Pass – The Sardis Road Connector between Dawsonville Highway to Thompson Bridge Road, the first major leg of the new by-pass.
8. The Community of Towns – Downtown streetscapes, parks, sidewalks have been included in SPLOST VI along with Downtown Gainesville and Midtown redevelopment.
The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce strongly supports SPLOST VI as the most sensible way to fund a wide range of crucial infrastructure and capital project needs. It is also the fairest tax, because a large portion will be paid by out-of-county people visiting our county to shop, while using our roads and other public services at the same time. If you think about it, one penny on the dollar is a small amount to pay in proportion to the many rewards that all citizens of Hall County will reap now and for future generations.
Vote “YES” to SPLOST VI on Tuesday, March 17. Early voting is now available at the Hall County Registrar’s Office on Browns Bridge Road.