Georgia’s Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) will be on the ballot during the Primary Election July 31.

Voters can then decide if they want to support this 1-cent sales tax to fund regional and local transportation projects.

Polk is part of the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, which consists of 15 counties and 49 municipalities.

If approved by the region, TSPLOST will take affect even if Polk voters do not approve it.

About $70,000,000 should be generated through this special tax over 10 years.

An estimated 25 percent of those funds would be distributed locally. The money would then be used toward local projects or to offset costs of road and public works departments.

The remaining funds are pooled with other counties within the region to construct “regional” transportation projects that were originally developed by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

Local TSPLOST projects that would benefit Rockmart and Polk are:

Widening Marquette Road from Brock Road to Highway 113 near Rockmart High School. Project cost would be an estimated $6,300,000 million.

Widening Highway 101 through Polk, which is estimated to cost about $117,588,872 million.

Polk County has typically received around $300,000 to $700,000 in funding per year for county — not city — projects.

If the TSPLOST passes, each county and city will be required to provide 10 percent matching funds toward future road grants from the state.

This subject has been discussed by local leaders for more than a year. Most are not sure whether or not it will

be approved in Polk County.

Many of the elected officials have adopted a "let the voters decide" attitude.