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It looks like 2016 and 2017 will be busy years when it comes to sales taxes for Macon-Bibb. Personally, I would like to see more SPLOST money targeted at roads, blight and improving streetscapes downtown.
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Next year, Macon-Bibb County residents likely will vote on a new round of projects that would be funded through the special purpose local option sales tax. In the meantime, county officials already have begun thinking of ways the sales tax could be spent.
The 2010 SPLOST, expected to bring in about $190 million, has been used to build a new juvenile justice center, relocate the animal shelter and make road improvements along the Second Street Corridor, among other projects.
Now, it's time to look to the future, officials said.
"I'm confident there will be quite a number" of projects, Mayor Robert Reichert said. "We'll develop a consensus and solicit ideas from members of the community before finalizing a list."
Reichert also said he'd like to see some of the sales tax revenue used to refurbish the City Auditorium and remodel of the Grand Opera House. Last year, commissioners passed a resolution supporting about $2.3 million worth of restoration work there, but a funding source has not been set.
The opera house, which is leased by Mercer University, also has office space.
"We'll probably have to rely on SPLOST funds to do (upgrades) quickly and effectively," Commissioner Larry Schlesinger said. "There's work to be done if we expect to maintain it as a first-class venue."
One expense that's unavoidable -- estimated at about $10 million -- is the closure of Macon-Bibb's main landfill.
It's a project that SPLOST money could help pay for, elected officials said.
"That is an expensive proposition and something that is staring us in the face," Reichert said.
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