Cobb to hold public meetings on proposed 2028 SPLOST

Cobb County government will next week begin a series of what it’s calling community engagement meetings for a proposed Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax referendum later this year.

The first meeting on the proposed 2028 SPLOST takes place next Thursday, Jan. 15, from 6-8 p.m., at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road) in East Cobb. Another is scheduled for Jan. 29, also from from 6-8 p.m., at the Fullers Recreation Center (3499 Robinson Road).

The meetings are a chance for the public to express their preferences on projects that would be funded with the tax.

The SPLOST collects sales-tax revenues for a variety of projects, including roads and transportation, public safety facilities, parks and libraries upgrades and maintenance and more.

A vote to extend the one-percent sales tax would take place later this year, with collections to begin in 2028. Cobb commissioners would have to vote to call for a referendum.

Last year, county officials asked commissioners to consider to have such a vote, although key details, such as a collection amount and a collection period, were not specified.

According to an overview, a proposed amount for the 2028 SPLOST would last for six years and collect $1.15 billion, if approved by voters.

That would be the largest SPLOST collection in any single period; the current Cobb 2022 SPLOST is expected to collect $750 million over six years.

A project list submitted by county department heads (you can read it here) includes several proposed transportation improvements in East Cobb:

• Shallowford Road at McPherson Road ($3.5 million)
• Canton Road at Canton Road Connector ($6 million)
• Lower Roswell Road at Old Paper Mill Road ($1.5 million)
• Johnson Ferry Road Corridor ($2.5 million)
• Shaw Road Corridor ($2 million)

Here’s the full schedule for the upcoming community engagement meetings for the proposed 2028 SPLOST:

• Jan. 15  – Tim D. Lee Senior Center, 3332 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta
• Jan. 21 – Public Safety Training Center (Mableton, Austell, Powder Springs), 2435 East-West Connector, Austell
• Jan. 22 – Public Safety Training Center (Mableton, Austell, Powder Springs), 2435 East-West Connector, Austell
• Jan. 29  – Fullers Recreation Center, 3499 Robinson Road NE, Marietta
• Feb. 5  – West Cobb Senior Center, 4915 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs
• Feb. 12  – Acworth Community Center, 4361 Cherokee Street, Acworth
• Feb. 25  – Smyrna Community Center, 1250 Powder Springs Street, Smyrna
• March 5  – Cobb Civic Center, 548 South Marietta Parkway SE, Marietta
• March 10  – Ben Robertson Community Center, 2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw