DALTON, Ga. — $100 million is a great deal of money, and before Whitfield County voters go to the polls to decide the fate of a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) that is predicted to raise that much money over six years, a group of several local citizens wants to make sure the public hears all the facts about the proposal.

“The (Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce) has come out in favor of the SPLOST,” said Jevin Jensen, owner of Jevin’s Ace Hardware in Varnell. “I’m a member of the chamber. I support a lot of their initiatives. But there didn’t seem to be anyone showing the other side.”

Voters will decide the SPLOST’s fate on March 19, with early voting to begin Feb. 25.

“We certainly have abundant data that tells us that quality of life and lack of available housing are the two primary reasons people choose not to live here,” said chamber President Rob Bradham earlier this month. “This (proposed) SPLOST invests in our local quality of life through new recreational opportunities, investments in public safety and improvements downtown amongst other things.”

The 1 percent sales tax is applied to most goods bought in the county. If approved, the SPLOST would begin on July 1 of this year. There is currently a four-year SPLOST that expires on June 30 that was projected to collect $64 million.

“They (supporters of the SPLOST) say ‘It’s just a penny,'” said Jensen. “But it’s only a penny if you buy something for a dollar. There’s not many things you buy today for a dollar. It’s 1 percent. For seniors and people on fixed incomes, that 1 percent adds up pretty quickly.”

Jensen said another claim made by supporters is that the SPLOST won’t be a tax increase because the county already has a SPLOST.

“We’ve got a four-year, $64 million SPLOST. Now they are talking about a six-year, $100 million SPLOST. That sounds like a tax increase to me,” he said.

Jensen and other members of the group will hold a meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Mack Gaston Community Center in Dalton to discuss the SPLOST.

“We want people to have enough information to make an informed decision,” said Dalton resident Cathy Holmes.

Former Whitfield County Board of Commissioners chairman Mike Babb, who is helping to spearhead the chamber’s campaign for the SPLOST, said he isn’t surprised that some people are opposed to it.

“Any time you are talking about taxes, there are people opposed to them,” he said. “The beauty of the SPLOST is that the people will decide whether there will be one.”

Babb said he supports the SPLOST because he thinks the projects it will fund are important.

If voters approve the SPLOST, Whitfield County would use more than $33 million to demolish the Administration 1 and 2 buildings, which were each built some 70 years ago and which officials say have structural problems, and build two new administration facilities; renovate the old section of the courthouse; and renovate the Gillespie Drive gymnasium for Drug Court, Mental Health Court and Domestic Violence Court.

The county would also use SPLOST funds for the design and construction of a park on land the county owns near Southeast Whitfield High School.

The city of Dalton would use $4 million of its share of SPLOST money to construct a new building for the John Davis Recreation Center to be used as a new recreation center, $1.5 million to build a walking/biking trail to connect Haig Mill Lake Park to the Crown Mill area and $1.3 million for new police vehicles.

The city would also spend an estimated $1 million to create a railroad “quiet zone,” an area where trains would no longer blow their whistles as they approach and pass through downtown Dalton.

Babb said he plans to attend Tuesday’s meeting.

“I look forward to seeing what they have to say,” he said.