NEWS

This Election Day, Chatham County voters will see the Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) on the ballot. The mayors of all the municipalities in Chatham County are collectively asking for support in passing TSPLOST. We need TSPLOST to fund our future, maintain the structures in place, and keep current tax trajectory stable. The population of Chatham County grew just under 15 percent over the last decade when the County voters last considered a regional TSPLOST vote. With recent announcements on all sides of the county, especially West Chatham, of new industry and other economic development projects, we will see continued growth patterns as more and more people flock to our region.

Here is why you should support TSPLOST:

• The population of Chatham County grew just under 15 percent over the last decade when the County voters last considered a regional TSPLOST vote. With recent announcements of new industry and other economic development projects on all sides of the county, we will see greater growth in the Southeast, the Coastal area and especially Chatham County.
• The TSPLOST dollars are allocated to defined projects identified and approved by the Chatham County municipal governments and the Chatham County Board of Commissioners as part of the TSPLOST initiative.
• The five-year TSPLOST collections are projected to exceed $420 million. Of that $420 million, approximately 35% will be paid by visitors to our community and the non-residents who work in Chatham County.
• TSPLOST will lessen the future tax burden on Chatham County residents as 35-40%  of our sales tax is paid for visitors, not residents.
• TSPLOST funding will provide the required local matching funds for several large projects, unlocking the significant amount of state and federal transportation dollars needed to complete the projects. We cannot access the matching funds without your yes vote. Let’s not leave millions of dollars on the table for other counties to take.  A few of the projects that will be eligible for the state and federal transportation dollars.
  • Presidents Street railroad overpass mitigation
  • Savannah Old Fort Rail Line Quite Zone safety improvements
  • I-95 at SR204 interchange improvements
  • I-95 at Airways Blvd/Pooler Parkway interchange improvements
  • Highway 17 Corridor Improvements
• When TSPLOST collections begin, our municipalities and the county will have immediate funding to use for resurfacing and neighborhood sidewalk projects. That means that your city council and your county commissioner have a say so to ensure that everyone in Chatham County, no matter their neighborhood or community, has access to these funds. Monies can only be spent on the listed specific projects and do not move into any General Fund.
• Chatham County is the only county in the region without TSPLOST, yet we have the largest population, worst congestion, and the greatest need for expedited traffic solutions.
• With Georgia’s largest economic development project, the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America Manufacturing Plant, coming to our area the population in Chatham County is certain to grow at a dramatic pace, so will the traffic issues. TSPLOST will allow Chatham County to plan for this future growth.
• Once TSPLOST collections begin, our municipalities and the county will have immediate funding to use for resurfacing and traffic calming. Our return on investment for this penny tax is solid and worthy of imposing this tax upon ourselves, rather than funding through property taxes which have either been reduced or stable for every municipality and Chatham County for 2 years.

Financially, best way to reduce congestion, repair/resurface roads, fix potholes, ensure that pedestrians safely traverse pathways and industry and residents have access to an efficient highway system, is for us all to support TSPLOST.

For more information on TSPLOST and to see the project list, please visit http://www.tsplostchatham.com