CLEVELAND, Ga. – The White County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 during a called meeting Thursday to divide the revenue from a proposed 2020 special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) with the cities of Cleveland and Helen on a 60-20-20 basis.

Before it can be collected, however, voters must approve an extension of the one-penny tax in a November referendum.

In a recent work session, Helen Mayor Jeff Ash and Cleveland Mayor Shan Ash requested their cities receive 23 percent each. County officials, however, only seemed willing to part with 13 percent. Put to a vote Thursday, Commissioners Terry Goodger, Craig Bryant and Lyn Holcomb voted in favor of awarding the cities 20 percent each.

“I thought it was fair,” Goodger said. “Several years ago, they had a bigger split. They moved down to 13 percent to help us bond the jail and now they want to go back to 23 percent.”

Commissioners originally estimated a six-year SPLOST would generate about $24 million. However, Goodger said collections have been stronger than anticipated the last few years. “Collections remained strong even during the bad times of the economy,” he said. “With two or three percent growth, over the six years of the SPLOST we could collect closer to $28 million.”

Both mayors said projects they would like to undertake would cost about $5.5 million.

Helen Mayor Ash said an expensive upgrade of its wastewater treatment facility would cost about half that. “We have 93 million gallons of sewage that has to be lifted and put in that pond (for treatment). We need a new lift station and those things aren’t cheap,” he said earlier this month.

The city of Cleveland wants to use its share of the revenue for improvements to the city courthouse, infrastructure, public safety facilities and roads and bridges.

Commissioners also approved a joint resolution with Lumpkin County that calls for Ga. 400 to be extended 16.2 miles from its intersection with state Route 60 in Lumpkin County to the new Appalachian Parkway in White County.

Ga. 400 has been an important catalyst for commercial, industrial and economic growth in the counties it runs through. Tourism is one of the top industries in White and Lumpkin counties, hosting about 1.2 million tourists each year. A major four-lane divided highway would make the counties more accessible to tourists. The counties will now present the resolution to state Senator Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega).

“Senator Gooch will bring it to the Georgia Department of Transportation to see if they will put it into their bucket of things to do,” Goodger said. “It’s going to happen eventually. We just want to be proactive rather than reactive in trying to get this on the table now.”

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