DAHLONEGA — A newly formed regional transportation group took a major step Wednesday night toward a 2012 vote on a 1-cent sales tax for road projects.

The 26-member group, made up of mayors and top county government leaders from throughout Northeast Georgia, put in place an executive committee that will do much of the work to pull together projects for a final recommended list.

The executive committee is made up of mayors Ruth Bruner of Gainesville, Ford Gravitt of Cumming and Harris Little of Carnesville, and county representatives Mike Berg of Dawson and Stan "Butch" Darnell of Rabun.

The group, meeting at the Lumpkin County Parks and Recreation building on Riley Road, decided also to name Sonny James of Habersham County as the executive committee's non-voting chairman.

Lamar Paris of Union County was named chairman of the overall group.

By moving toward the tax, the group is complying with the Transportation Investment Act passed last year by the Georgia General Assembly.

The law allows voters within regional commissions throughout Georgia to decide whether to add the sales tax, first by setting up transportation "roundtables."

The Gainesville-based Georgia Mountains Regional Commission has taken the lead in forming the Northeast Georgia roundtable.

The roundtable must decide on a final project list by Oct. 15.

If voters within the district approve the tax on Aug. 21, 2012, the state would begin distributing proceeds in 2013, with 75 percent of the money dedicated to regional projects decided on by the roundtable and 25 percent going to local governments using their discretion on projects.

Todd Long, the Georgia Department of Transportation's planning director, conducted much of Wednesday's meeting, explaining particulars of the tax, including that it runs for 10 years. He also talked about future steps, including a requirement to hold at least two public hearings.

He noted, as he has in other presentations, that the catalyst behind the whole sales tax matter is that the state's traditional revenue source - motor fuel taxes - "is in bad shape."

People are driving less because of high gas prices and trading for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Long, former district engineer based in Gainesville, has done that himself, ditching a 20-year-old pickup truck for a Toyota car.

The 26-member roundtable is not required to submit a final project list to the DOT.

If it doesn't, however, Long can declare a "special district gridlock" and the issue would not go to the voters.

In that case, the district can't call for a new vote for two years and local governments in the district will have to match state maintenance and improvement grants by 50 percent.

If no gridlock is declared but the vote fails, the match is 30 percent. If voters pass the tax, the match is 10 percent.

Paris told the group said the tax initiative will call for historic cooperation among city and county officials across the state.

"It's critical we work together," he said. "We've got to look at this as, in the end, what's fair for everybody and what suits the region."

Gravitt told the group that "in talking with legislators, there are some things that need to be tweaked (with the law) ... but this is the best we've got right now."

"Mayor, it took us five years to get to this point," said state Rep. Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, one of three lawmakers who will sit as non-voting members to the roundtable.

He was referring to the hotly contested debate over the issue in the legislature.

"I recommend we work together, drop all the boundaries and make it work."