The public input meetings for Cobb County’s 2028 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax kick off this Thursday, January 15, with a meeting at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center in East Cobb. The address of the center is 3332 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta. All the SPLOST meetings run from 6 to 8 p.m.

SPLOST, an optional one-percent sales tax, funds major public projects. Officials are in the process of developing the proposed list of projects to be funded in the next SPLOST cycle.

The tax has historically supported large capital investments such as courthouses, community centers, parks, libraries and major transportation improvements. As part of the renewal process, a series of community engagement meetings has been scheduled across the county to give residents an opportunity to review proposals and share feedback.

The meetings will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the following locations:

• Jan. 15 – Tim D. Lee Senior Center, 3332 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta
• Jan. 21 – Public Safety Training Center (Mableton, Austell, Powder Springs), 2435 East-West Connector, Austell
• Jan. 22 – Public Safety Training Center (Mableton, Austell, Powder Springs), 2435 East-West Connector, Austell
• Jan. 29 – Fullers Recreation Center, 3499 Robinson Road NE, Marietta
• Feb. 5 – West Cobb Senior Center, 4915 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs
• Feb. 12 – Acworth Community Center, 4361 Cherokee Street, Acworth
• Feb. 25 – Smyrna Community Center, 1250 Powder Springs Street, Smyrna
• March 5 – Cobb Civic Center, 548 South Marietta Parkway SE, Marietta
• March 10 – Ben Robertson Community Center, 2753 Watts Drive, Kennesaw

You can view the project list in its current form by following this link.

Importance of the SPLOST

The SPLOST was created to provide an alternative means of taking on big capital improvement projects that a county or city would not otherwise be able to afford with existing resources.

“We’re a small city with the smallest budget, and SPLOST is critical,” said Austell Mayor Ollie Clemons, quoted in a news release on the county website. “Especially when you consider aging infrastructure and parks and recreation, SPLOST means everything to our community.”

“It’s been a huge benefit to our residents,” said Smyrna Mayor Derek Norton in the same news release. “From the unsexy infrastructure things like road paving, water, and sewer, to the shiny objects like parks and recreation improvements—these are the items residents really appreciate.”