T-SPLOST, The Tax that Keeps on Taxing

The following is an analysis of each county in the three region that voted yes and passed T-SPLOST.  This information is provided by Bill Evelyn, Director, State of Georgia Tea Party, LLC

Central Savannah – Region 7

Summary: Every county has projects, but the entire region falls $107 million short to complete all those projects. Let’s look at each county separately.

Wilkes County is guaranteed $933 k per year in guaranteed LARP payouts and it has TIA projects equaling $6.6 mililon. Problem is GDOT estimates of costs are $51.6 million, which means those projects fall short $45 million or 87% short. The people of Wilkes County need to come up with $45 million if they want all their projects complete.

Lincoln County is guaranteed $627 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout and it has TIA projects equaling $6.5 million. Problem is GDOT estimates of costs are $9.7 million, which means those projects fall short $3.1 million or 67% short. The people of Lincoln County need to come up with $9.7 million more or those projects will be cancelled. Lincoln voted NO.

Columbia County is guaranteed $2.5 million per year or just 13% of their total contributions in LARP payout. The total TIA projects estimate are worth $174 million with costs of $174 million. Columbia County is getting money from the smaller poorer counties. Columbia voted NO.

Taliaferro County is guaranteed $362 k per year or 362% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $500 k when the GDOT costs are estimated to be $1.9 million, which means the good citizens of Taliaferro must come up with $1.4 million or nearly fourteen (14) times more than what is collected in the tax. Taliaferro is a big loser in Central Savannah.

Warren County is guaranteed $691 k per year or 125% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $5.0 million with costs of $14 million. The citizens of Warren County need to come up with $9.0 more dollars to complete all their projects representing 17 times more than they collect per year.

McDuffie County is guaranteed $996 k per year or 27% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $23.5 million with costs of $49 million. The citizens of McDuffie County need to come up with $26.0 million more dollars to complete all their projects representing 16 times more than they collect per year.

Hancock County is guaranteed $1.1 million per year or 241% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $12.0 million with costs of $12 million. The citizens of Hancock County are whole and really benefit.

Glascock County is guaranteed $392 k per year or 158% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $500 k with costs of $500k. The citizens of Glascock County are whole and really benefit. Glascock voted NO.

Richmond County is guaranteed $4.0 million per year or just 11% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $294 million with costs of $302 million. The citizens of Richmond County need to come up with $8.0 more dollars to complete all their projects representing 4.5 months worth of collections or the Commissioners can Bond the money delivered by the LARP.

Washington County is guaranteed $1.8 million per year or 55% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $40.6 million with costs of $40.6 million. The citizens of Washington County are whole and really benefit.

Jefferson County is guaranteed $2.0 million per year or 97% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $9.8 million with costs of $24.8 million. The citizens of Jefferson County need to come up with $15.0 more dollars to complete all their projects representing 7 times more than they collect per year.

Burke County is guaranteed $1.9 million per year or 36% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $29.7 million with costs of $29.7 million. The citizens of Burke County are whole and really benefit.

Jenkins County is guaranteed $975 k per year or 130% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $2.1 million with costs of $2.1 million. The citizens of Jenkins County are whole and really benefit.

The citizens of Lincoln County voted NO to impose this tax and that was a good decision as they would need to come up with $.9.7 million. Yet the way TIA was formed those citizens are now required to pay a penalty, plus come up with more money. That is tyranny of the majority.

River Valley – Region 8

Summary: Seven (7) counties have no projects, but the entire region falls $23 million short to complete all those projects. Let’s look at each county separately.

Chattahoochee County is guaranteed $208 k per year in guaranteed LARP payouts representing 16% of its total collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 365 YES 320 NO. Forty five people just forced every citizen to pay their taxes to another county. They deserve what they get.

Clay County is guaranteed $354 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 126% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 423 YES 234 NO. They deserve what they get.

Muscogee County is guaranteed $3.3 million per year or just 9% of their total contributions in LARP payout. The total TIA projects estimate are worth $220 million with costs of $220 million. The vote 13,825 YES 12,487 NO. 1,338 just forced every citizen to pay their taxes to another county. They deserve what they get.

Crisp County is guaranteed $1.2 million per year or 33% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $63 million when the GDOT costs are estimated to be $63 million. The vote 1,618 YES 1,370 NO. Two hundred and forty five eight people just forced every citizen to pay these taxes. Crisp wins in this region.

Dooly County is guaranteed $1.2 million per year or 74% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $6.9 million when the GDOT costs are estimated to be $6.9 million. The vote 1,054 YES 885 NO. One hundred and sixty nine people just forced every citizen to pay these taxes. Dooly wins in this region.

Harris County is guaranteed $1.1million per year or 43% of its yearly collections. But their TIA project list is worth $23.5 million with costs of $49 million. The citizens of Harris County need to come up with $20.0 million more dollars to complete all their projects representing 9.0 months worth of yearly collections. The vote 2,471 YES 2,948 NO. This was a principled vote, but now they will be punished by the State of Georgia and need to come up with 30%. This is tyranny of the majority in the Region.

Macon County is guaranteed $896 k per year or 71% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $9.6 million when the GDOT costs are estimated to be $12.6 million. The citizens of Macon County need to come up with $3.0 million more dollars to complete all their projects representing 2.5 years worth of yearly collections. The vote 1,711 YES 830 NO.

Marion County is guaranteed $354 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 126% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 1,376 YES 917 NO. They do okay.

Quitmann County is guaranteed $328 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 87% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 500 YES 303 NO. They do okay.

Randolph County is guaranteed $792 k per year or 96% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $32.6 million with costs of $32.6 million. The vote 1,058 YES 670 NO. They do okay.

Schley County is guaranteed $338 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 104% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 362 YES 367 NO. Five people voted this down in the county causing them to face the 30% penalty. Tyranny of the majority in the Region.

Stewart County is guaranteed $575 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 152% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 844 YES 405 NO. They do okay.

Sumter County is guaranteed $1.4 million per year or 31% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $25 million with costs of $25 million. The vote 2,221 YES 1,847 NO. They do okay.

Talbot County is guaranteed $609 k per year or 102% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $3.3 million with costs of $3.3 million. The vote 1,081 YES 592 NO. They do okay.

Taylor County is guaranteed $778 k per year or 91% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $500 k with costs of $500 k. The vote 783 YES 969 NO. They do okay.

Webster County is guaranteed $443 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 229% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 509 YES 299 NO. They do okay.

The citizens of Harris County voted NO to impose this tax and that was a good decision as they would need to come up with $20 million to complete the projects. Yet the way TIA was formed those citizens are now required to pay a penalty, plus come up with more money. That is tyranny of the majority.

Heart of Georgia – Region 9

Summary: Seven (7) counties have no projects, but the entire region falls $116 million short to complete all those projects. Six counties voted it down, 11 counties voted it up. Let’s look at each county separately.

Appling County is guaranteed $776 k per year or just 21% of their total contributions in LARP payout. The total TIA projects estimate are worth $5.0 million with costs of $25 million. The citizens of Appling will need to come up with $20 million to get these projects complete. The vote 2,586 YES 2,272 NO. 314 people just forced every citizen to pay their taxes to another county, to come up with an additonal $20 million. They deserve what they get.

Bleckley and Candler Counties are guaranteed $353 k and $364 k respectively per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 33% and 28% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 973 YES 1196 NO for Bleckley and 576 Yes 730 NO were smart votes. They voted NO and that was smart except there is now tyranny of the majority and they will be forced to pay a fine. If I were a county commissioner or state rep in that area, I would be furious.

Dodge County is guaranteed $671 k per year or just 31% of their total contributions in LARP payout. The total TIA projects estimate are worth $8.5 million with costs of $42 million. The citizens of Dodge will need to come up with $34 million to get these projects complete. The vote 1,485 YES 2,181 NO. They voted NO and that was smart except there is now tyranny of the majority and they will be forced to pay a fine,come up with another $34 million, and hope to get their projects completed. If I were a county commissioner or state rep in that area, I would be furious.

Emanuel and Evans Counties are guaranteed $830 k and $286 k respectively per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 31% and 21% of their yearly collections. The total TIA projects estimate are worth $6.4 million and $1.7 million with costs of $6.4 million and $1.7 million. The vote 1,933 YES 1,278 NO for Emanuel and 730 Yes 475 NO were not very smart votes, because their projects and LARP are less than total collections over 10 years. If I were a county commissioner or state rep in that area, I would be furious.

Jeff-Davis County is guaranteed $502 k per year or 25% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $1.7 million when the GDOT costs are estimated to be $7.0 million. The citizens of Jeff-Davis will need to come up with $5.3 million to get these projects complete. The vote 1,908 YES 1,710 NO. One hundred and ninety eight people just forced every citizen to pay these extra taxes and Jeff-Davis will not get back what they paid into the regional tax.

Johnson County is guaranteed $359 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 60% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 1,454 YES 1,228 NO. If you voted YES in this county you just sent 40% of your tax to other counties.

Laurens County is guaranteed $1.2 million per year or just 15% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $25 million when the GDOT costs are estimated to be $39 million. The citizens of Laurens will need to come up with an additional $14.3 million to get these projects complete. The vote 4,302 YES 4,841 NO as the correct vote as Laurens was a huge donor County. Tyranny of the majority in the region will cause Laurens citizens to come up with an additional $14.3 million and pay the 30% fee.

Montgomery County is guaranteed $322 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 53% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 1,519 YES 865 NO. If you voted YES in this county you just sent 47% of your tax dollars to other counties.

Tattnall County is guaranteed $711 k per year or 36% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $10.9 million with costs of $10.9 million. The vote 1,495 YES 997 NO. They do okay as they are a slight donor county.

Telfair County is guaranteed $427 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 37% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 1,537 YES 1,643 NO was a smart vote, because Telfair was a donor county. This county voted NO, but since there are no projects I’m not sure how a penalty would apply. Still they donate 63% of their taxes to other counties.

Toombs County is guaranteed $629 k per year or just 14% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $58.7 million when the GDOT costs are estimated to be $102 million. The citizens of Toombs will need to come up with an additional $43 million to get these projects complete. The vote 2,459 YES 2,010 NO was not a smart vote. Toombs on gets 57% of its value back from collections.

Treutlen County is guaranteed $246 k per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 50.5% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 1,223 YES 595 NO. If you voted YES in this county you just sent 49.5% of your tax to other counties.

Wayne County is guaranteed $801 k per year or 21% of its yearly collections. Their TIA project list is worth $17 million with costs of $17 million. The vote 2,440 YES 3,335 NO was smart, but now tyranny of the regional majority will insist they pay a 30% fee for voting it down. They pay in $38 million and only get back $24 million in value.

Wheeler and Wilcox Counties are guaranteed $304 k and $403 k respectively per year in guaranteed LARP payout representing 21% and 65% of their yearly collections. There are no TIA projects. The vote 873 YES 634 NO for Wheeler and 1,184 Yes 792 NO were not smart votes. They voted YES and only give away 79% and 35% of their taxes to other counties. If I were a county commissioner or state rep in that area, I would be furious.

The citizens of Laurens and Toombs counties should be furious. County Commissioners and State reps should be screaming and hope the people of those counties don’t wake up.