Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Savannah council begins SPLOST 8 planning, sets tight timeline for project list
Summary
City staff reviewed SPLOST history and told council the county wants municipalities’ proposed project lists by late May; council members pressed for strong public engagement and a focus on infrastructure and coastal resilience. A motion to enter executive session for personnel, real estate and litigation followed and was approved by voice vote.
Savannah City Council held a workshop March 27 to begin preparing the city’s submission for a proposed Chatham County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum (SPLOST 8) and to outline a compressed timeline for producing a city project list for the county.
City officials framed the session as the kickoff for a process that staff said must move quickly if the county places a one‑cent SPLOST referendum on the November ballot. Joseph Schierhouse, chief of information and public affairs, told council: "SPLOST is a 1% countywide sales tax that helps fund capital projects throughout our county," and said the program has supported more than $2,000,000,000 in county capital investment, including roughly $700,000,000 in the city of Savannah.
The city manager and Chief Taffney Young presented the mechanics and deadlines staff received from Chatham County. Young said staff’s plan is to provide council with a consolidated list of existing capital projects and unmet capital needs and then ask council to prioritize and approve a final list to send to the county. "The goal at this point is that we would provide the list of the projects that you have approved on May…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
