TSPLOST vote set for July 2012

By Sherri EllingtonThe Three Rivers Regional Commission has held its two public hearings on proposed road improvement projects to be paid for under a proposed regional transportation sales tax. It has now been sent to the transportation roundtable for review. With the tax, Pike County would get a total of $16.1 million.The purpose of the proposed regional sales tax, known as a TSPLOST, is to allow citizens in the TRRC Special Transportation Tax District to vote on a 1% sales tax to fund transportation projects. For Pike, that would mean about $11.3 million in funding designated for specific projects and some $4.8 million in unrestricted transportation funding.The money would be split into two pots, designated funds of 75% for regional projects and a discretionary fund of 25% for local projects.Increased fuel efficiency of modern vehicles caused gas tax revenues to decline. Those revenues are needed to maintain roads and bridges. Travel patterns and road use of average citizens has remained the same. As a result, transportation funding cannot keep pace with the continued growth and the need communities have for safe, efficient, economical transportation infrastructure improvements.