Murray County residents should see some major improvements in public safety and recreation during the next few years due to a six-year, $38 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) approved by voters in November 2023.
A SPLOST is a 1% sales tax on most goods sold in the county that can fund capital projects.
Sole Commissioner Greg Hogan said last year one of the projects the SPLOST will fund is “design and architectural work for, not a courthouse, but what we are calling a justice center where they can have all the courts under one roof.”
The building would be behind the courthouse annex. The courthouse was completed in 1917.
“We are going to fund some recreation projects such as a two-mile walking track at our rec center on Hyden Tyler Road,” Hogan said. “It will probably have a bicycle lane so people can bike and walk and run.”
He said the SPLOST continuation will also fund equipment for the Public Works Department as well as new patrol vehicles for the sheriff’s office.
He said the county also needs to build another fire station. Currently, the county has eight fire stations and the Emergency Management headquarters and fire department at 810 G.I. Maddox Parkway. He said the new station will be on Highway 411 near the Appalachian Regional Port.
Hogan said inflation is pushing up the cost of all the equipment the county needs.
The current SPLOST approved by voters in 2018 is set to expire in December 2024 or when it collects just under $29 million. The 2023 SPLOST will begin then. Hogan said he expects the current SPLOST will reach its maximum limit before its expiration date. Among the major projects this SPLOST has funded are the construction of two new fire stations, additional patrol cars for the sheriff’s office, the replacement of two gym floors in a recreation facility, improvements to existing fire stations, additional fire hydrants, updates to public safety communications technology and upgrades to emergency management equipment, facilities and technology.
The county also has a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST). The TSPLOST is a 1% sales tax collected specifically for transportation projects. That TSPLOST expires on April 1. Hogan said the tax has helped the county go from paving 10 to 12 miles of road a year to paving about 20 miles a year.
Residents will vote on a new five-year TSPLOST later this year. That tax would pay for road paving and the replacement of some bridges.