Several residents of Muscogee County, Georgia sued the Columbus Consolidated Government, the Muscogee County School District, and the Muscogee County Library Board collectively, “the defendants” for equitable relief, seeking to halt the defendants’ expenditure of funds generated through a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax “SPLOST”. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court determined that the residents lacked standing to bring suit and dismissed the complaint. For reasons that follow, we affirm. The record shows that in 1999, the defendants sought SPLOST funds to build a new public library on the site of an old shopping mall in Muscogee County. A task force was created to campaign for the SPLOST, which had to be approved by voters, and information was distributed to Muscogee County citizens about the proposed library and SPLOST funding. That information included an architectural rendering of the future library, which showed an extensive park-like space behind the building. The rendering was displayed at numerous public meetings and placed in brochures. A local newspaper also published the picture, noting that it depicted what the library “might look like,” but that the facility’s design would be finalized if and when voters approved the SPLOST.
In addition, task force committee members who attended public SPLOST meetings were given a list of answers to possible questions that might be posed by concerned citizens. One of those answers stated:If the decision to build the library is positive, the existing mall will be removed and much of the asphalt will be torn up and in its place a green space and a park will find residence alongside the new library. The city would like to add a tag office and other facilities where citizens could purchase licenses, a one stop shop, maybe a police precinct. Before the SPLOST vote, the project received much discussion in the local press. The newspaper printed an interview with a task force committee member, who essentially repeated the committee’s prepared answers regarding the library, including the answer quoted above. A published breakdown of the costs associated with the library did not mention a park, but earmarked certain funds for “landscaping.” Another newspaper article indicated that “the library building, parking and green space would take up about 17 of the 40 acres on the mall property,” with the remainder reserved for future city and school use.
