Savannah council begins SPLOST 8 planning, sets tight timeline for project list

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 23 to the county," Young said. Staff described a proposed timeline that includes: a managers’ meeting on March 31 to receive further details from the county; a target date of May 23 for the city to transmit an approved project list to the county; a July 16 date for municipalities to finalize intergovernmental agreements; and a May 22 backup submission date if more time is needed.

Staff emphasized program constraints and eligible uses. Schierhouse explained that SPLOST is voter‑approved, must list specific permanent capital projects and cannot be used for routine operations. He also summarized the local sales tax structure discussed in the workshop: a 7¢ state and local sales tax where three pennies remain locally and one of those pennies funds the SPLOST program countywide.

Council members repeatedly urged staff to prioritize basic infrastructure and to sustain public engagement through the development of the SPLOST 8 list. Alderman Nick Palumbo, chairman, District 4, argued that the referendum must combine visible projects with substantial infrastructure investments: "It needs steak," Palumbo said, urging attention to streets, stormwater and a new category for "coastal resilience." Alderman Carolyn H. Bell said public input should be ongoing: "I think it's very important that we have civic engagement all the way through," she said, urging that project lists be shared early with district residents.

Several other council members said their neighborhoods continue to report unmet needs for drainage, sidewalks, street lighting and basic maintenance. Alderwoman Bernetta B. Lanier described repeatedly hearing the same infrastructure complaints at neighborhood meetings and urged staff to focus SPLOST resources where they address persistent, citywide deficits.

Staff told council they will not create new candidate projects as the first step; instead they will provide a formatted inventory of capital projects that have been previously authorized or are in some stage of planning but remain underfunded. Staff also said they will supply council members with a short survey asking each member to rank categories of capital need and to indicate preferred allocations (a simple “$100 allocation” exercise) so staff can develop a prioritized short list for council deliberation.

Council asked for transparency on remaining funds from earlier SPLOST rounds. Staff agreed to provide a detailed accounting of leftover balances in prior SPLOST projects and to explain how unused project funds can be reallocated, subject to voter approval and legal constraints. Staff noted that, historically, SPLOST lists are negotiated among the county and all municipalities and that final ballot language reflects those intergovernmental agreements; one council member cautioned residents should understand the process is countywide and negotiated, not a unilateral city decision.

At the end of the workshop the council voted to recess into executive session for purposes of personnel, real estate and litigation. A council member moved the motion and a second was recorded; the motion passed by voice vote. The council recessed until 2 p.m.

City staff said they will deliver the formatted project inventory to council members next week and will publish opportunities for public engagement tied to the city’s Savannah GPS strategic plan and neighborhood outreach. Council and staff framed the coming weeks as a compressed but public process to reconcile long‑standing capital priorities with voter expectations and county timelines.