Stephens County’s SPLOST VIII Talks Left a Countywide Capital Plan Still Undecided

Stephens County commissioners held a second called interjurisdictional meeting on May 2, 2025, to discuss possible SPLOST VIII projects and spending with local municipalities, according to WNEG Radio. The meeting, held at 6 p.m., proceeded without representatives from Avalon, Martin or Toccoa, the station reported. County Administrator Christian Hamilton presented information about the sales-tax program and past projects, but the reported meeting did not produce a documented final plan or vote.

The talks matter because a new SPLOST cycle could shape how Stephens County pays for capital work serving both unincorporated areas and its cities. WNEG Radio reported that the discussion encompassed potential needs in roads and bridges, fire and emergency medical services, law enforcement, E911, public facilities and economic development. Those choices would determine what appears before voters and how potential proceeds would be allocated, rather than simply continuing the tax automatically.

The May meeting followed an initial interjurisdictional discussion on April 14 at the Stephens County Historic Courthouse, WNEG Radio reported. At that earlier session, county officials and the cities discussed possible projects and the amount each government might receive if voters approved the tax; Vice Chairman Chris Rickman said the first meeting had gone well, while Toccoa Mayor Terry Carter described it as a starting point for negotiating allocations. The absence of municipal representatives from the follow-up meeting left that reported negotiating process without all three cities at the table that night.

County officials, as described in WNEG Radio’s reporting, presented SPLOST VIII as a possible continuation of a one-cent tax used for capital projects, including countywide services such as fire response, EMS, the sheriff’s office and 911 dispatch. Municipal governments have a direct stake because their projects and prospective shares were part of the discussions. Carter’s comments portrayed the first meeting as informative and the beginning of allocation negotiations; the report does not provide a position from Avalon, Martin or Toccoa officials on their absence from the May 2 session.

What is established is a reported planning process and two discussions of potential projects and expenditures. What remains unestablished is more consequential: the accounts do not document a governing-body vote approving a SPLOST VIII project list, a referendum result, or a final plan. WNEG Radio reported that any ballot would need to state the tax’s purpose, duration and revenue amount. It also reported that collections could begin July 1, 2026, only if voters approved a referendum; that conditional projection is not proof that approval occurred or collections began.

The next public step identified in WNEG Radio’s 2025 reporting was additional SPLOST meetings before officials presented a detailed proposal to voters ahead of a November election. Before that could happen, county and municipal participants would still need to settle the proposed projects and allocations reflected in a ballot measure. The reporting does not establish whether those later meetings occurred, whether a referendum was placed before voters, or how any vote turned out.