Savannah City Aldermen Mary Osborne and John Hall did their best to convince their constituents to support the upcoming 1-percent transportation sales tax referendum during a meeting at the W.W. Law Center Wednesday night, but many of the 40-plus residents there made it clear they were not going to blindly succumb to promises of improved streets and sidewalks.
If approved when it goes to vote July 31, the sales tax is expected to generate $52 million over a 10-year period for Savannah officials to use on local transportation projects of their choosing.
The revenue raised would be evenly distributed among the city’s six districts for traffic and safety improvements, sidewalk installations, road resurfacing and transportation projects, Osborne said.
City staff members present at the meeting said they have made a preliminary list of projects for each district based on improving safety, easing traffic congestion and providing emergency evacuation routes, but they were not set in stone.
Projects can be added or eliminated depending on community feedback, said John Sawyer, public works and water resources director.
“We will come up with a final list of what you want done,” Sawyer said.
The local funding is in addition to about $600 million raised for projects countywide, such as planned improvements to the DeRenne Avenue corridor.
While a few residents had made up their minds either to support or oppose the tax, many said they were undecided after the hourlong meeting.
They still had questions about how the funds would be used, in addition to concerns about their tax burden being increased. Incomplete projects that were supposed to be funded with past sales-tax funds, such as a downtown arena, also made some skeptical that the promised projects would see the light of day.
“We need to be vigilant, study and hold their feet to the fire,” said resident Corinthia McCoy-Harris. “Then I’ll be able to make an informed decision.”
Wednesday’s meeting was one of several transportation sales tax meetings planned for locations across the city.