Athens-Clarke commissioners have added funding to several projects, including the firefly trail, sidewalks, and street paving, after changing estimates of TSPLOST revenue.
Commissioner Jerry NeSmith says ACC staff studied sales tax trends and came up with the most recent numbers by looking at the past five years instead of ten previously. In addition to adding money for new projects and some already on the list, NeSmith requested $340,00 for the county take over private streets in a neighborhood near the mall, a move he says will also benefit the county.
“This is a way for us to help them in that neighborhood stop a decline in that neighborhood to stop a decline into rental housing, for the property values to go up and for the quality of life to go up in those neighborhoods,” according to NeSmith. “There are hundreds of houses, if not thousands of houses in surrounding neighborhoods and the value of those properties are affected by the decline of those properties.”
Some commissioners did object to the move, saying it would set a negative precedent.
The new figures show an estimated $109.9 million in revenue from the TSPLOST compared to the previous estimate of $104.5 million. Public input is still being accepted regarding projects.
