Jim Collins, chair of Citizens for Progress and an engineer with Thomas and Hutton, told the Chatham County Board of Commissioners the SPLOST8 campaign kicked off in mid‑September and has focused on outreach to civic and professional groups and distribution of mailers and palm cards with a QR code linking to Vote Yes materials. "Early voting started, October 14 and the actual date of the referendum will be November 4," Collins said.
Collins said early polling identified drainage as the top voter concern and described a slate of drainage and road projects across the county, including potential road‑widening work in West Chatham and a proposed railroad overpass on President Street. He said campaign fundraising has come entirely from private sources and that the campaign has met with roughly 25 civic and professional organizations.
Commissioners urged residents to review the county and municipal project lists before voting. Commissioner Aaron Whiteley asked for a direct link to the project list; Collins pointed to the campaign's palm card and QR code and said the project map is available on the campaign website. "I encourage everybody to go and look at the list for yourself," Whiteley said, adding that municipal lists should also be checked to see city‑specific projects.
The presentation closed with a short question‑and‑answer period about public information materials. Collins said the campaign has posted project maps and descriptions online and used targeted outreach; he offered to share printed palm cards with commissioners and staff.
The board took no formal action on SPLOST8 during the meeting; Collins's briefing was presented as campaign information and outreach to the commission and public.