Walker County voters approve tax increase, Dade County says no

Walker County residents voted 2,622-1,122 Tuesday to implement a 1 percent increase in sales tax, while Dade County residents voted 576-435 against it.

The sales tax was the only item up for election in Dade and Walker counties, though council and commission seats were up for a vote in some cities.

In Atlanta, 12 candidates were vying in a nonpartisan race to replace term-limited Mayor Kasim Reed. Elsewhere across the state, there were seven special general legislative races, as several candidates resigned their offices mid-term to run for higher offices. Those open positions included two state Senate seats and six state House seats.

After voters shot down the tax increase, Dade County Executive Ted Rumley said the issue would be "back on the ballot in the real election. We'll have a lot more people [turning out] to vote."

Walker County's five-year increase will go into effect April 1. The new money will fund road improvement projects, though its timing is unfortunate for Walker County residents whose tax bill just went up by 50-70 percent.

"This is very exciting to have this much support," Commissioner Shannon Whitfield said. "I think it's a great testimonial that the citizens of Walker County are ready to move forward and they're ready to have positive change and get their roads and bridges fixed."

There isn't a plan in place to fund road projects in Walker County other than Tuesday's tax vote. This is due to tightened budgets to help pay off the county's debts. With the tax increase, it would bring in about $3 million per year, with the county keeping $2.25 million and its cities splitting the rest.

Monday night before the election, Whitfield took to Facebook Live to address residents' questions regarding the sales tax before the vote. He explained the tax would go up from 7 to 8 percent, which would still be lower than Chattanooga's 9.75 percent.

The Georgia Department of Transportation gives cities and counties a certain amount of money for road improvement projects through a grant. However, local government has to match 30 percent of that money. Additionally, if the money isn't spent within three years, it has to be returned to the state.

Tuesday's tax increase will give the county and its cities enough money to match the 30 percent and then have some left over.

Some projects the new money might go to include 10 road resurfacing projects, totaling about $1.6 million. Two of those projects cost more than $300,000. One of those is a nearly three-mile stretch of Peavine Road between the county line and Kay Conley Road. The other is a two-and-a-half-mile section of Dry Valley Road between Happy Valley Road and W. Schmitt Road.

Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.