The special purpose local option sales tax brings in a huge amount of money for local government at a relatively small price. From a one percent sales tax, which SPLOST is, Carroll County has collected about $214 million since the program began in 1986.

That number is set to increase rather dramatically, too. The amount of revenue a sales tax brings in grows with the county, so local officials are looking at a minimum $100 million from the next SPLOST alone, possibly $130 million after six years and with 5 percent growth, which is roughly the county average. That’s not chump change for a county government with a $1 million capital budget last year outside of SPLOST.

But even if SPLOST is only a penny on the dollar, it’s still your penny. And with a new, extended SPLOST (the laws changed to allow it to run longer) coming up on either a September or November ballot, it’s probably wise to ask: how have past SPLOSTs fared?

“In my opinion, we have done a very good job using SPLOST to fit the county needs at the time, and plan for the future,” said county Commissioner Trent North. “In addition, by using SPLOST we use less of the tax digest (property and ad valorem taxes).”

There have been three SPLOSTS since the first in 1986: 1993, 1998 and 2003. Their budgets were $30 million, $34 million, $60 million and $84 million, respectively -- the county is still collecting for the latter. Some SPLOSTs came in over budget, such as the 1993 budget at about $43 million. Some came under. The 2003 SPLOST, with about a year to go, will likely collect about $80 million. And all of the revenue has to be split between the county and each of its municipalities.

Virtually every project included in these SPLOSTs has been completed. But there have been some bumps along the way.

For example, Carroll County was sued in 1998 for collecting and spending more than the $34 million it had promised on the 1993 SPLOST ballot, as mentioned earlier. All previous SPLOSTs (including 2003) lasted for five years and/or a pre-determined amount of money, and ended on whichever came first.

The 1998 case eventually wound its way to the Supreme Court of Georgia, which ruled in favor of the county -- even though the 1993 ballot read it was “for the raising of not more than $34,000,000” -- through legal nuances in the actual statute itself, which have since been changed.

The case took its toll on the county, however. Former Chairman Jack Bell, who is now deceased, said in 2000 that the lawsuit cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars, not just in court fees but also in contracting fees. Luckily for the county, the law now is that with some exceptions SPLOSTs can run six years and will not end until those six years are up even if the county collects more money than estimated.

The 1986 SPLOST is a subject of discussion even today. In a work session on Monday, county commissioners said they thought there were some problems with it.

As the first SPLOST, the ballot had far fewer items on it than the more recent ballots.

In fact, the 1986 ballot was only a paragraph instructing the county to use the $30 million budgeted for “constructing water and sewerage projects.”

Some commissioners said they thought more instruction was needed, however.

“The ’86 SPLOST was not done in the best manner,” North said. “Everybody was trying to say where to put the pipes.”

North said there was some contention about the best places for the county to extend its water and sewer pipes into unincorporated Carroll County. And, to make the money go further, the Carroll County Water Authority chose to use smaller, 6-inch pipes, which provide water but are not adequate for fire protection after a certain distance.

“We provided a water distribution system, not a fire prevention system,” said Commissioner Randy Simpkins.

Jim Baxley, the executive director of the water authority at the time, said the priority then was getting water to people.

“We tried to cover as many people as possible,” Baxley said. “The SPLOST that was voted in wasn’t for fire protection. It was for water.”

While the 1986 SPLOST was completed, projects from two SPLOST after it -- 1993 and 1998 -- have not been.

The 1993 SPLOST account is still open because the city of Carrollton hasn’t finished its renovations of the train depot on Bradley Street. Carrollton has about $618,000 in accounts slotted for the train depot.

Carrollton City Manager Casey Coleman said that money would be enough to refurbish the outside of the depot, but that the city was waiting to raise another million dollars to refurbish the inside. One of the ideas the city is leaning to for the depot is a farmers market.

The 1998 SPLOST account is open because the county government has not yet completed the county fire station in Bowdon, and the city of Villa Rica has not yet completed its city sewer project. The county had about $250,000 in its account as of January, and Villa Rica had about $490,000.

Danny Mabry, city manager of Villa Rica, said that sewer project money was part of a larger, multi-million dollar project, and that the city expects its approval from the state Environmental Protection Division in the next year or so.

One benefit to keeping both accounts open is that the county gets the interest. For the 1993 SPLOST, that interest has to be shared with the municipalities -- usually only hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars -- but for the 1998 SPLOST the county can keep it all. Temple and Roopville had some non-interest money from the 1998 over in their accounts, at $19,000 and $2,000, respectively.

SPLOST ballots usually don’t list specific projects. For example, a municipality might have a particular road in mind to repair with SPLOST dollars, but the item will usually be listed as “road projects.”

One such example is the wooden bridge over the railroad tracks at Croft Street in downtown Carrollton. Mabry, who was formerly the Carrollton city manager, said city engineers realized they would have to either move or demolish two nearby houses in order to make the bridge concrete, and abandoned the project.

Overall, however, Mabry said he thought the 1993 SPLOST, at least from Carrollton’s perspective, had been successful. Mabry noted the city built the Spray and Splash in west Carrollton with SPLOST dollars, among other improvements.

“Overall, at least from the standpoint of what we were able to accomplish with our programs, it was successful,” Mabry said. “Later on, some folks thought we gained volume on Bankhead (Highway), and that we could have attempted to try to soften that look instead of so much concrete. ... But I think it was successful for the time.”

Some projects that were built with SPLOST money were opposed by members of the community.

Horrie Duncan and Jack Bell, chairmen during the 1993 and 1998 SPLOSTs, are deceased. But Tracy Teal, chairman during the 1986 SPLOST, said the first SPLOST was opposed by people even though it was for water and sewer projects during the severe drought of the late 1980s.

“Some people are always going to be on the other side of the line,” Teal said.

Current Chairman Bill Chappell opposed using SPLOST money to build the $17 million jail in 1998.

“I thought there was a better way to have done the jail,” Chappell said. “But that’s done and over with; that’s behind us. I wouldn’t have done it that way, but then again, now I’m in the job.”

SPLOST voting margins have grown. In August 1986, the SPLOST was approved 4,410 to 4,105 votes; in November 1993, it was 4,318 to 3,422. In November 1998 that number was 9,037 to 8,262. And most recently, 4,105 people voted for the SPLOST compared to 2,038 against.

Carroll County has approved all four of its SPLOSTs, but what about a county that has not? Haralson County saw its SPLOST proposal fail last year.

Haralson County Chairman Allen Poole said he thought the vote failed because of low turnout, and rumors that the county was including a jail project at the expense of a water project.

“I believe it failed because number one, it was on an off-county election,” Poole said. “It was only a municipal election. And the other thing is, I think we heard what people said about the jail, and we are trying to find some other solutions to those issues. But we’re going to put it back before the people this year, even though I believe most people realized our SPLOST was an all-county SPLOST.”

Poole said he planned to put roughly the same ballot before the voters this year. But he has also toyed with the idea of using private contractors to build and run the jail, thus essentially removing it as a SPLOST item.

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners is in the middle of trying to figure what projects it wants to put on a 2008 SPLOST ballot. So far roads and water have emerged as the clear consensus, but no specific projects have been mentioned yet.

North, who joined the board in 1993, said each SPLOST has had a top project to entice people to vote for the ballot. The 1993 SPLOST made county recreation “real,” North said. In 1998 it was the jail, and in 2003 it was a combination of greenspace preservation and a county courthouse addition, North said.

Baxley said the 1986 SPLOST had a good reason to pass.

“The good lord sent a drought in 1985 and 1986, and a lot of people’s wells went dry,” Baxley said. “It (the SPLOST) pretty much sold itself.”

But North said that, ultimately, a SPLOST depends less on the project on the ballot, and more on county leadership.

“Whether a SPLOST, in my belief, passes, is more so a reflection of whether citizens trust the leadership,” North said.

And will the SPLOST pass in 2008?

“It is too early to tell,” North said. “I really think that what’s going to be on the SPLOST (ballot) is going to have more of an indication this year than in the past.”