Do you have an opinion on what direction transportation and public transit should take in Cobb County, and whether you support any of the options open to the county by the state’s transit and surface transportation bills?

The Cobb Department of Transportation has posted a survey seeking public input on the Mobility Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (MSPLOST).

The Cobb DOT hopes to get the MSPLOST on the ballot for 2022.

The survey asks questions about your preferences on the balance between public transit, road improvements/widening, sidewalks, and mixed-use trails, and the details on how it should be funded assuming the MSPLOST passes.

Here is the way the Cobb DOT website describes the MSPLOST:

SPLOST (the referendum on the ballot in November 2020) has been a fixture in Cobb County for decades and provides funding to a variety of county agencies for projects, including public safety projects, parks, libraries, and information services/technology as well as transportation.

MSPLOST is very similar but provides dedicated funding for transit and possibly surface transportation projects. In the last few years, Georgia passed House Bill 930 (transit) and House Bill 170 (surface transportation), which gives the county the option to put this dedicated transit/transportation funding source to a vote. HB930 creates the opportunity for a funding source dedicated to transit and House Bill 170 creates the opportunity for a funding source dedicated to surface transportation.

The Cobb DOT describes the options available as follows:

Both House Bills allow for a great deal of flexibility regarding the amount and the duration that money is collected, providing a multitude of possibilities. Specifically, HB930 allows the county to implement up to 1 penny for up to 30 years for transit.  Likewise, HB170 allows the county to implement up to 1 penny for up to 5 years for surface transportation projects. So, the options range from ¼ for 1 year to 1 penny for the full duration allowed under each bill. To complicate things further, the county has the option to implement both House Bills with the MSPLOST or a single House Bill.

The primary questions facing the county and its residents at this point include:

• Should the county include both House Bills (transit and surface transportation) in the MSPLOST referendum or go with a transit only option?
• How much of the 1 penny should be included in the referendum?
• How long should the penny sales tax be collected?

Take the survey by visiting the Cobb DOT website at this link. The survey only takes a few minutes to take.