Sandy Springs voters face Nov. 3 call on $112M transportation tax

Sandy Springs residents will decide Nov. 3 whether to keep paying a 0.75 percent sales tax that would funnel roughly $112 million into local road, sidewalk and congestion-relief projects over the next five years.

Fulton County and 14 cities, including Sandy Springs, formally called the special election in a notice signed by Fulton County Director of Elections Nadine Williams. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5.

The ballot question asks whether an "additional" 0.75 percent transportation sales tax should be collected in Fulton County outside Atlanta. But the measure is a renewal, not a new tax. Sandy Springs residents already pay the levy under a version voters approved in 2021. If the renewal passes, the city's 7.75 percent sales tax rate stays the same. If it fails, the current tax expires March 31, 2027, and the rate drops.

What the money funds

The renewed tax would take effect April 1, 2027, and run through March 31, 2032. Countywide, the program is projected to generate about $650 million for the 14 participating cities, according to a Fulton County press release issued Aug. 4.

Sandy Springs' share is $112,340,820 under the signed Intergovernmental Agreement, the second-largest allocation among the 14 cities. That 17.20 percent share is based on the city's 2024 Census population estimate.

Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts said in the Aug. 4 press release: "Transportation remains one of the top concerns identified by Fulton County residents. TSPLOST is a great example of local governments working together to deliver the services our communities need and want."

Countywide, the $650 million breaks down as: $227.2 million for pedestrian, bicycle, streetscape and landscape projects; $182.9 million for maintenance and safety improvements; $97.1 million for congestion relief and roadway projects; $96.9 million for operations and safety; and $35.8 million for bridge projects.

Local context

The tax is not new. Sandy Springs voters first approved a TSPLOST in November 2016, and renewed it in 2021. Prior collections funded projects including the Hammond Drive improvements and the Johnson Ferry Road/Mt. Vernon Highway reconstruction.

Sandy Springs' updated Transportation Master Plan, approved in August, estimates approximately $117 million available for transportation improvements from 2027 to 2031, with much of that funding expected from the TSPLOST renewal.

During a June 16 City Council debate over that master plan, Councilman Andrew Chinsky signaled he wants less emphasis on car-oriented projects if TSPLOST dollars keep flowing. "I'm hesitant to keep spending so much on car-oriented travel thinking it's going to solve the traffic problem when it's not going to … We have to provide people other ways to get around and also help people stop driving through Sandy Springs," Chinsky said, according to Appen Media's coverage of the meeting.

Oversight and deadlines

If the referendum passes, the IGA requires a 15-member citizens' oversight council, with one appointee per city plus one from the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, to be formed within 90 days. Annual public reporting on project costs, expenditures and completion dates is also required.

Key voter deadlines: