Voters in Troup County voted to approve SPLOST V Tuesday night in overwhelming fashion.

The vote unofficially passed 71 to 29 percent Tuesday. There were 4,753 yes votes compared to 1,916 no votes on SPLOST.

SPLOST, or Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, is a proposed 1 percent tax on sales and uses within Troup County.The SPLOST will be used for infrastructure and capital outlay projects, as well as debt services within the county.

Capital outlay projects are defined as major projects of a permanent, long-lived nature, such as land and structures, roads, streets, bridges, police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks and other major equipment, according to Advancing Georgia’s Counties, a nonprofit instrumentality of Georgia’s county governments.

SPLOST is estimated to raise $70 million over the next six years and would help fund projects in LaGrange, Hogansville, West Point and Troup County.

Among the notable projects are a new headquarters for the Troup County Fire Department, and replacing eight fire engines and four fire tankers; 911 upgrades; continuing the progress of The Thread walking trail, and renovations to parks and roads and bridges to all three cities and the county.

SPLOST was passed in all 15 precincts around the county.  Many were happy to hear the news, including Bill Stankiewicz, who was re-elected mayor of Hogansville on Tuesday night. Most of the candidates running for office in this election were adament in their support of SPLOST.

““I am heartened by the passing of SPLOST,” Stankiewicz said.

“Having that money available for capital projects is the life blood for a small city that would otherwise not have those kinds of dollars available for capital projects. It’s just absolutely critical to our growth.”