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Speakers urge transparency in SPLASH 2 spending and renewed charter review
Summary
Public commenters at the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners meeting pressed for citizen oversight of SPLASH 2 (SPLOST) spending, criticized the absence of a citizen advisory board for the new funding round and urged action on a long-delayed county charter review.
Residents and civic advocates told the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on March 11 that SPLASH 2 — the countys multiyear SPLOST program — lacks adequate citizen oversight and public input.
Steven Binney, a longtime participant in county processes, said DeKalb collected more than $700 million for SPLASH 2 but that “to this day, a year after the county started collecting funds for SPLASH 2, we still do not have a citizen's advisory board or any other board for citizen input or supervision.” He compared the current process unfavorably with SPLASH 1, when a Citizens Advisory Board assisted in assembling a project list for public review.
Binney urged the commission to act: “The time for talk is over, the time for action is now,” he said, and asked the board to send the charter review recommendations to the DeKalb legislative delegation so voters can decide on changes.
Binney also criticized the conduct of a prior meeting on Feb. 25, saying lengthy presentations and a lunch break before public hearing items caused some members of the public to leave before their items were heard. He asked commissioners for an apology for that meeting.
The transcript records commissioners and staff acknowledging the concerns; the meeting record shows several items and committee referrals on the agenda but no formal vote in open session on the creation of a SPLASH 2 advisory board at the March 11 meeting.
Ending
Speakers asked the commission to expedite charter review work and to create or reestablish a citizen oversight group for SPLASH 2; commissioners were urged to bring the charter recommendations to the state legislative delegation for voters' consideration.
