Stephens Co. Commission Meeting Today

Stephens County Commissioners are expected to vote on whether to approve the issuance of $4.5 million in bonds in order to forward fund road work in the county at their meeting later today.

The county commission is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. today in the second-floor courtroom of the historic Stephens County Courthouse in downtown Toccoa.

County commissioners are considering issuing up to an initial $4.5 million in general obligation bonds to forward fund road projects throughout Stephens County.

Those bonds would then be paid back with SPLOST VI revenues designated for roads as the county collects that penny sales tax.

When Stephens County voters approved SPLOST VI, that approval included a provision allowing Stephens County to borrow up to $8.5 million by issuing bonds in order to forward fund SPLOST projects.

Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers has recommended the $4.5 million figure to start with to ensure that the county can handle the payments based on current SPLOST projections.

If the bonds are approved, Stephens County already has in place a road prioritization list it will work off of to spend the SPLOST money.

In February, the county commission approved that road prioritization list.

County commissioners will start today at 5:30 p.m. with a work session to discuss the items on the agenda.

The business meeting where commissioners will vote on the agenda items will follow the work session.

Today’s Stephens County Commission meeting is open to the public.