Cobb County officials will present the Board of Commissioners with a proposal on Tuesday to consider holding a referendum in November 2026 to continue collecting the county’s Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
The current 2022 SPLOST, which collects a one-percent sales tax to fund county construction, maintenance, improvements and technology operations, expires at the end of 2027.
The proposed timeline leading up to a 2026 referendum (click here) would include meetings with officials from Cobb’s seven cities this year, followed by an Oct. 1 deadline for a draft project list to be submitted.
In early 2026, the county would conduct public input and town hall meetings, with commissioners to approve the final project list next April.
Commissioners also would have to vote to hold a referendum and the county would have to publicly advertise it.
The proposed process is similar to the current and previous SPLOST approvals.
The resolution attached to Tuesday’s agenda item (click here) doesn’t indicate a length for the 2028 SPLOST, nor does it estimate an amount to be collected. Typically they’ve been for five- and six-year periods since first being approved to start in 2011.
The six-year, $750 million 2022 SPLOST was approved in 2020, and includes $329.8 million—more that half of all revenues—for transportation and road improvement projects.
Of those new road projects, the big-ticket item in East Cobb is $3.9 million for intersection improvements at Post Oak Tritt Road and Holly Springs Road. Another $2.4 million would be used for Canton Road corridor improvements.
Another project on the 2022 list is the development of Ebenezer Downs Park on Ebenezer Road, at a cost of around $3 million.
Also on the project list are renovations and improvements at Fullers Park, Sewell Park, Terrell Mill Park, the Mountain View Aquatic Center. additional amenities at East Cobb Park and video surveillance cameras at the Mountain View Regional Library.
Tuesday’s presentation will come during the regular agenda portion of the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
Commissioners also will hold a final public hearing and will be asked to vote on a measure to opt out of a new state homestead exemption law.
A number of local governments and elected bodies, including the Cobb Board of Education, have opted out of the law, which caps the rate of property tax increases, saying current homestead and exemptions are more beneficial to parents and taxpayers.
Related:
- April deadline nears to file for Cobb homestead exemption
- Former Cobb Tax Assessor named to new county role
- Richardson’s office declared vacant after appeals court rejected
- Cupid to hold community meeting at NE Cobb center
- Cobb government seeks opting out of homestead exemption law
- Richardson resumes seat as Cobb commission drama continues
- Cobb government seeks feedback in ‘brand equity’ survey
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