Plans for a November referendum on the Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST) have been shelved — for now.
County Chairman Neal Bennett told The Times last week the referendum will be postponed until March, to allow for a vote on the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST). (See related story.)
“The ESPLOST looks like it will max out ahead of schedule and the school board will need to go ahead and schedule a renewal referendum on it to keep it from expiring,” Bennett explained.
Bennett said the additional time will allow the county and cities to finalize an intergovernmental agreement on the FLOST.
Bennett clarified that Blackshear, Offerman and Patterson will all need to be a part of the intergovern- mental agreement, even though Offerman does not levy property taxes. The agreement must be in place before the county can call for a referendum.
The Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST) is a new sales tax which can be levied up to one percent and collected county-wide.
Funds from the FLOST will be split between the county and cities of Blackshear and Patterson based on the intergovernmental agreement. Offerman residents will still benefit from the FLOST through the county’s millage rollback.
The FLOST is projected to generate up to $3 million per year. The funds would be used to fund the county’s and both cities’ maintenance and operations budgets. The amount generated would then be rolled back from the millage rate.
The tax can be approved for up to five years and revenues will be used to lower property taxes and millage rates.
An exact date on the FLOST referendum will be set when the intergovernmental agreement is finalized.
