In late 2015, a majority of the counties in Middle Georgia elected to initiate the process for the region to consider a regional transportation sales tax. After several informational meetings, the Regional Transportation Roundtable was established and, on September 26, 2016, its initial meeting was held. During this meeting, the Executive Committee was elected and investment criteria were adopted.
During the first quarter of 2017, local governments and MPOs submitted projects for possible funding through a regional transportation sales tax. Between June and November 2017, the Executive Committee reviewed each project and developed, in consultation with the Georgia Department of Transportation, a draft Investment List that is financially constrained. During this process, the Executive Committee conducted public meetings and received input from citizens and local governments. On November 13, 2017, the Executive Committee approved the draft Investment List to be recommended to the Regional Transportation Roundtable.
The Regional Transportation Roundtable met in its final meeting on December 13, 2017. During this meeting, the Roundtable approved the recommended Investment List and a resolution to call for the election.
KEY PROJECTS ON THE INVESTMENT LIST
When selecting projects for the Investment List, the Executive Committee identified large scale projects that are critical to the movement of people and goods through the region as the highest priority. Once those projects were budgeted, the most important projects from each local government were selected for inclusion. Key projects are:
- Completion of SR 96 from I-16 to SR 49 (Twiggs, Houston and Peach counties)
- Improvements to SR 247 (Houston and Pulaski Counties)
- Improvements to US 41 (Houston)
- Improvements to Hwy 80 (Crawford)
- ROW / Design Sardis Church/ Sgoda Road (Macon-Bibb and Twiggs Counties)
- Improvements to Bass Road (Macon-Bibb)
- Improvements Montpelier / Thornton Roads (Monroe)
- Griswoldville Industrial Park Rail Spur (Jones)
- Improvements to Gordon McIntyre Road (Wilkinson)
- Improvements to Log Cabin, North Jefferson and Dunlap Roads (Baldwin)
- Construction Eatonton NE Bypass (Putnam)
An interactive map of all projects is located here.
REVENUE PROJECTION
The State Economist provided the Executive Committee with projections on how much revenue would be generated from a 1 percent sales tax over a 10 year period.
| Total (2018-2028) | |
| Revenue Projection | $637,746,847 |
| 75% Regional Share | $478,310,135 |
| 25% Local Share | $159,436,712 |
In addition to the funds generated by the sales tax, the Georgia Department of Transportation has committed $135 million towards completion of projects on the Investment List. This commitment is contingent on passage of the referendum and is in addition to any other funding that the Georgia Department of Transportation may expend in the region during the period.
REGIONAL SHARE
The regional share, 75 percent of the revenue, will be used for projects included on the Middle Georgia Investment List. The Middle Georgia Investment List is provided below.
LOCAL SHARE
The local share, 25 percent of the revenue, will be distributed to the cities and counties of middle Georgia based on a formula of road mileage and population. The estimated revenues by local government are provided below.
2018 Middle Georgia Regional Transportation Sales Tax Approved Investment List Local Share