Votes Likely To Be Asked To Vote On Transportation Sales Tax

Oconee County voters are likely to be asked to approve a new 1 percent sales tax later this year to help the county meet its public works needs, Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell said in the State of the County address.

Daniell said last week that no decision has been made on when the referendum will be on the ballot, but he said that he expects to have the issue on the agenda of a Commission meeting in May or June.

The 2021 election calendar issued by the Secretary of State would allow only one possibility this year for a vote on the sales tax after that date. That would be on Nov. 2.

Transportation dominated Daniell’s comments in his nearly 45-minute-long presentation, sponsored by the Oconee Chamber of Commerce and held at the Civic Center.

The county is expecting to receive $7.8 million in federal funds for pandemic relief, Daniell said, and he hopes that some of that money can go toward infrastructure projects that would include roads but also water and sewer projects and broadband.

Even without the federal money, Daniell said, the county is investing heavily in a government-corporate partnership to provide broadband services to the county.

“Our goal is for the entire county to have broadband service in three years,” Daniell said.

For more on this story, with a video of the State of the County address, please go to Oconee County Observations.