County Officials Reveal SPLOST 2015 Wish List At Civic Center Meeting

Oconee County officials, in a meeting at the Civic Center last night, provided citizens with the first overview of projects under consideration for the proposed 2015 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum planned for the May 20 ballot.

The list contained some surprises.

Added was a new request by Sheriff Scott Berry for $3.4 million for a mobile data terminal, patrol vehicles, remodeling of a building, and a jail surveillance system.

The list included $2 million in funds for heating and air conditioning, renovation and roofing at existing county buildings, although the county has at least $2.6 million in unspent funds for exactly the same purpose from the SPLOST approved by voters for 2004.

A $25 million request for a new courthouse or judicial facility was attributed entirely to Chief Superior Court Judge David Sweat, though he never made a formal request for the facility.

No money was included for farmland protection, even though the current 2009 SPLOST contains $0.5 million for that purpose and Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Davis sat through a meeting last Thursday night where citizens said they wanted continuation of that funding.

For much more on this story, including a chart showing details of the requests, go to Oconee County Observations.