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Kennesaw council backs temporary SPLOST reallocations to advance Cherokee Street and Ben King projects
Summary
Council members and staff proposed temporarily reassigning excess SPLOST (sales tax) collections to accelerate construction on Cherokee Street and Ben King, while staff said anticipated overages should allow the funds to be replenished before the next referendum; staff will return with further details.
An unnamed council/staff speaker (Speaker 5) told the Kennesaw Mayor and Council at its Aug. 25 work session that Cherokee Street and Ben King should be prioritized and that the city can temporarily reallocate excess SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) dollars to deliver those projects sooner.
"I think all of us here can agree that Cherokee Street and Ben King are priority projects for us to get those done," Speaker 5 said, urging the council to move items A, D and E together so work can proceed on final surveys, permitting and bidding with the goal of advertising for bids by January or February 2026.
Speaker 5 told the council that SPLOST collections have been running about $300,000 to $350,000 per month in excess and that the city tracks those overages in a separate line so they can be returned to originally planned projects. The proposal detailed using 2016 swap funds for an overpass extension (item A), directing $3,000,000 of current overage into a neighborhood improvements bucket to support Ben King and Cherokee Street (item D), and temporarily reallocating a $9,000,000 2022 allocation into neighborhood improvements (item E).
Council members pressed staff on the effect of the moves on the Sardis Street program. Speaker 4 asked whether the reallocations would "fully cover" Sardis; staff replied that the transfers should cover "90 to 95%" of that program based on current estimates but cautioned the current referendum will likely not completely fund all work on Sardis and some work may need to be carried forward to the next referendum.
The council signaled support for placing less controversial items on consent and asked staff to return additional financial detail. Speaker 3 requested a SPLOST committee update at the next work session; Speaker 11 said county feedback is pending and the committee will meet again before presenting a report.
The council did not take a formal reallocating vote during the work session; the discussion led to direction for staff to prepare options and return with detailed budget implications and scheduling.
Clarifying details: staff noted monthly SPLOST excess collections of approximately $300,000–$350,000, a proposed transfer of $3,000,000 for neighborhood improvements, a temporary $9,000,000 reallocation from 2022 funds, and a requested $2,500,000 top‑up for Kathy Rutledge Lane design and acquisition. Staff estimated a 2½‑year window of overage collections to help replenish temporarily moved funds.
What’s next: Council requested a follow‑up at a future work session with the SPLOST committee report and precise fiscal schedules; no final appropriation or ordinance was adopted during the meeting.
