RN-T.com – Committee whittles SPLOST list down to

A big step in the process of whittling down the list of proposed SPLOST projects was achieved Thursday night.

During a four-hour meeting of the Rome-Floyd SPLOST Citizens Advisory Committee, members of the 12-person group went through a majority of the more than 30 projects remaining and ended with a list that totaled just under $69 million.

The estimated combined cost of all the projects that were originally proposed was $178.4 million. Projections by Floyd County show a new 1-cent special purpose, local option sales tax would generate about $63 million in revenue over five years.

“We’re extremely close,” committee chair David Newby told the group. “Really, this is a huge accomplishment.”

The cooperation of local government officials along with sometimes lengthy back-and-forth discussions concerning both the cost and impact of certain projects contributed to the development.

Rome and Floyd County officials presented new lists to the committee that showed how they had prioritized their respective projects and found ways to lower the costs on some.

“If we are at the point where we’re looking at a $68 million total then give us some time as a staff to work with the county and look at everything in order to see if there is anything more we can do,” said Rome City Manager John Bennett.

via RN-T.com – Committee whittles SPLOST list down to.