Fall ballots in multiple Georgia counties to include transportation tax

Voters in counties around the state of Georgia will decide on Nov. 5 whether to approve a transportation tax to cover improvements to local infrastructure.

A sales tax referendum on ballots in counties that include Cobb, Douglas, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry and Murray each authorize or continue a 1% tax for purposes that include transportation work.

The Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax can be used for purposes that include roads, bridges, public transit and seaports.

Georgia law mandates at least 30% of sales tax revenue must be used for projects consistent with the state’s strategic transportation plan.

Transportation tax background

There are multiple types of transportation sales taxes in the state of Georgia. The first is a regional tax. The second is a single-county tax. Two other transportation sales tax collections are imposed in the Atlanta and Fulton areas.

The Atlanta- and Fulton-area taxes and the single-county tax fully apply to motor vehicle transactions. The regional tax collections apply only to the first $5,000 of a motor vehicle transaction.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, leading up to Election Day, 107 of the state’s 159 counties have in place a transportation sales tax.

Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes do not apply to fuel purchases.

Douglas County

Voters in Douglas County will decide whether to raise the 7% local sales tax by 1% to 8%. The transportation tax increase is estimated to raise $100 million over six years.

Transportation tax revenue in the Atlanta-area county would be divvied between the county and three cities. The county would collect 70% of net proceeds. The city of Douglasville would receive 24%, while the city of Villa Rica would collect 5% and the city of Austell would get 1%.

Revenue would be used to “improve the county’s roads through maintenance and new projects that focus on safety, congestion relief, enhanced mobility and quality of life.”

The largest portion of proceeds – $60 million – would be applied for resurfacing more than 100 miles of roadway.

Collection of the tax would begin in spring 2025 and end by 2031. At that time, voters could decide to renew the tax.

Passage also would permit the county to issue general-obligation debt up to $60 million for the projects.

Gwinnett County

Ballots in Gwinnett County will also include a transportation tax question.

Voters in the Atlanta area’s largest suburban county will decide on a question that is intended to help reduce congestion. If approved, a 1% sales tax would be added for transit improvements.

The county now collects a 6% sales tax.

Up to 75 transit projects that include a connection to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport would receive funding. The project list does not include heavy rail or an expansion of the metropolitan rapid transit.

The countywide tax would be collected starting April 1, 2025. The tax is estimated to raise $17 billion over 30 years.

Hall County

Voters in Hall County will decide on a question to benefit transportation projects.

Ballots in the county located northeast of Atlanta will ask voters whether to increase the 7% county sales tax by 1% to 8%.

The six-year transportation tax is estimated to raise $390 million.

The county would receive 80% of tax revenue annually. There are 10 jurisdictions in the county that would split the rest.

Funds would be applied largely for road improvement projects. Money would also be used for intersection improvements, paving and resurfacing, road striping, traffic calming and other road projects.

Henry County

A tax question on the Henry County ballot would authorize the continuation of a 1-cent sales tax in the county and in the cities of Hampton, Locust Grove, McDonough and Stockbridge.

Tax collection in the locale southeast of Atlanta would begin in April 2025.

The tax is estimated to raise $470 million over six years. The county would keep 68%, or an estimated $319.6 million, over that time. The cities would divvy up the remaining 32%.

Revenue raised would benefit projects that include resurfacing, intersection improvements and maintenance and safety.

Murray County

The Murray County ballot will include a question to support transportation work.

Ballots in the north east-central Georgia county that borders the state of Tennessee will include a question about whether to renew a six-year, 1% transportation tax.

The county’s previous five-year transportation tax generated about $26 million. It expired June 30.

Renewal this fall would again boost the local sales tax rate from 7% to 8%.

The county estimates that a six-year renewal would raise $39 million. Revenue would be used for road resurfacing, bridge repair and other transportation projects.

Murray County would receive 90%, while the cities of Chatworth and Elon would get the remaining 10%. The cities’ shares would be based on the percentage of total road and street miles in each.

Cobb County

Voters in Cobb County will decide whether to approve a mobility tax. Passage would authorize the Atlanta-area locale to impose a 1% transit sales tax for 30 years.

Approval would boost the local sales tax from 6% to 7% to raise an estimated $10.9 billion. The revenue is touted to fund up to 75 transit projects.

The largest portion of funds – $6 billion – would be used for a high-capacity transit project that includes a bus rapid system.

Passage by voters would also authorize the county to issue up to $950 million in general obligation bonds for transit work.

Forsyth County

A related tax question will be on the Forsyth County ballot.

Voters in the county north of Atlanta will decide whether to renew a special purpose local option sales tax. Continuation of the 1% sales tax would keep the local tax at 7% for another six years to raise $380 million.

The tax is scheduled to sunset in March 2025. Renewal would extend tax collection through March 2031.

Continuation of the tax would benefit projects that include road widenings and intersection improvements.

“The penny sales tax in our county is a crucial funding source for the county’s capital projects such as transportation improvements, public safety needs, parks and recreation and other key areas for our community’s continued success,” Forsyth County Manager David McKee said in prepared remarks. LL

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