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Commissioners told perimeter road would go to referendum; questions remain about wording and county‑level tabulation
Summary
Chair reported a state representative informed the commission a perimeter road referendum will appear on a May ballot; commissioners and staff discussed uncertainty about ballot wording, whether results will be counted per county or combined across three counties, and next steps for local study or petitioning DOT.
During the Ware County Board of Commissioners work session, the chair reported that a state representative (named in the meeting as "Birkett") said a perimeter road measure would be placed on a referendum, likely in May. The chair said the representative indicated the referendum had been approved for the ballot and that the question would be a simple yes/no vote.
Commissioners and staff discussed how the measure would be counted across the three counties involved — whether each county’s votes would be tallied separately or combined regionally — and whether local commissioners would have a chance to review the ballot wording before it was finalized. County staff said legislative counsel and legal staff would be involved in drafting and reviewing the verbiage and that the commission would be sent the wording for review.
Commissioners said the path forward was uncertain and that more discussion with state representatives, legal counsel and regional partners would be needed to determine how a vote would be structured and what local steps (petitions, studies, DOT requests) might follow depending on results. No formal action or vote on the perimeter road was taken during the work session.
What’s next: County staff and commissioners indicated they would follow up to clarify ballot language and tabulation procedures and consider appropriate local responses once the official wording and process are known.
