Grady voters say NO to T-SPLOST

Grady County voters did not favor an additional one cent sales tax for transportation improvements, even though Grady County would have received nearly 95 percent of the tax collected here through investment into local transportation projects.
The unofficial results indicate that 2,175 voted No compared to 1,985 who voted Yes on the sales tax referendum.
As The Messenger went to press early Wednesday, it appeared the T-SPLOST was defeated in all but three of the 12 regions of the state.
Grady County is part of the 14-county Southwest Georgia region and with 99 percent of the precincts reporting the vote was 36,981 against and 28,276 in favor.
Had the referendum passed in the region and failed locally, Grady County would have still been required to collect the tax, but also the local projects included in the referendum would have been funded.
The new one percent sales tax was projected to have generated $530,378,773 over the 10-year life of the tax.
Local projects to be funded with the proposed tax included a $2,835,000 airport runway extension at the Cairo Municipal Airport; $4,118,065 for the replacement of the bridge on Georgia Highway 112 at Sapp Creek; $2,544,000 for the full reclamation, widening and resurfacing of Old 179 North; as well as other projects.
Of the total regional projects, $14,312,078 would have been invested in projects in Grady County.
In addition to that, 25 percent of the total taxes generated would have been returned to local cities and counties in the region as discretionary funds that could have been used for transportation projects chosen by local city councils and county commissions.
Grady County’s 25 percent share of the discretionary funds was estimated at $877,403, with the Grady County Commission receiving $718,451; the city of Cairo $147,805; and the city of Whigham $10,787.
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