A lot has changed since 2006.
That was the last time Chatham County voters approved paying an extra penny per dollar to pay for a range of road, drainage and recreational projects.
At the time, county officials estimated $445 million would be raised from the six-year special purpose local option sales tax by the time it expires next September.
About $80 million was supposed to go toward the construction of a new civic arena, which was to be paired with a public safety headquarters.
City officials were eyeing a site north of Gwinnett Street and west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, near Interstate 16, for the facility as a way to spur economic development in communities such as Carver Heights and Cloverdale.
Then the economy tanked and the amount of expected sales tax revenue has been reduced to about $362 million.
To make up for cuts to other projects, the City Council in 2010 shifted funds from the arena, which is now slated to receive only about $22 million.
via Savannah arena site consideration spurs outcry | savannahnow.com.
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