Many people in Bibb County are upset with county spending, saying the $4 million for the South Bibb Recreation Center is something the county "can't afford."
The empty fields at the South Bibb Recreation Center will soon be replaced with multipurpose fields, over 20 additional tennis courts, splash pads, and a tennis center. The project is paid for by $4 million from Macon-Bibb County’s SPLOST fund.
That money is raised from a penny sales tax on purchases in Bibb County, whether by locals or visitors, not from the property tax.
Parks and Rec Director Robert Walker says those SPLOST funds are already allocated to his department for the next 9 years.
“Over the last 16 years, we have about $80 million to renovate and build new facilities,” said Walker.
But people commented on our original story announcing the changes saying, “Aren't we spending more than we have?” and, “Oh, yeah, let's shut down the libraries and transportation in Macon and build 24 tennis courts instead. That make perfect sense...”
We wanted to verify whether SPLOST dollars could go to the general fund, which funds agencies like the libraries and the transit authority.
According to Georgia state law, SPLOST money can go toward county capital projects that benefit the community like road construction and maintenance, law enforcement, or recreational facilities like the one in south Bibb.
But Bibb County can’t use SPLOST money to fund day-to-day operating costs for its departments.
We verified it's false -- the SPLOST money used for the project can’t be given back to the general fund, however, the 8 employees Walker plans to hire will need to come out of their budget for next year.
“Again, that comes out of the general fund, not the SPLOST fund to get those employees,” said Walker.
Walker says he doesn't know much those employees' salaries will cost, but he hopes the revenue from the basketball leagues and tennis tournaments will eventually help him reduce his budget.