Oconee County commissioners tonight are to begin the public whittling down of the $100 million in requests for the 2015 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.

If they stay on schedule—and Commissioner Margaret Hale has asked that they not—they will vote at their meeting on Mar. 4 to put the referendum for the 1 percent sales tax on the May 20 ballot.

The commissioners are going to have to decide which projects have the most popular support—and the evidence so far is that the recreational projects, including new tennis courts, are high on the list—and which ones represent the greatest county needs.

The $100 million in requests will have to be reduced to either $47 million or $38 million, depending how the county decides to estimate likely revenue from the six-year SPLOST.

For more, visit Oconee County Observations.