The City of Waycross has scheduled two informational meetings for the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum that will be on the ballot for the General Election Tuesday, November 8.
The meetings will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, October 10 and Monday, October 24 in the City Commission chambers at City Hall. Mayor Michael-Angelo James as well as commissioners will offer information about the issue as well as ask questions.
Ware County Manager Scott Moye as well as Ware County Commissioners will be invited to join their city colleauges at the sessions, Interim City Manager Marc Hawkins said. The SPLOST is a joint city-county issue with each benefitting from the one-cent sales tax proceeds based on population from the 2020 Census.
The governments are seeking to share in not more than $55 million on a 60-40 (county-city) basis over the six-year term of the referendum.
Toward that end, the city unveiled a project list in July totaling $16.7 million that would be funded by its portion of the tax proceeds with the county’s list at $25.05 million. Joint projects benefitting both the city and county total $13.25 million.
Use of SPLOST funds are limited to capital outlay projects such as the building of parks, schools, roads, and other public facilities. It also allows for equipment and vehicles for public safety and public works.
Currently, tax on retail sales in the county is eight cents, but that will decrease a penny on April 1, 2023 when the tax for the local T-SPLOST ends. Should the SPLOST pass next month, it would begin when that T-SPLOST ends March 31.
Waycross and Ware County have been without SPLOST funds since June 30, 2021, when the one passed in 2014 ended. The issue was placed on the ballot in both the 2019 and 2020 municipal elections, but rejected each time.
Approvals during 2019 and 2020 would have kept the county’s overall tax at nine cents. Until those rejections, the two governments had operated with money from a special tax since 1984.
Projections by the Georgia Department of Revenue for the county have said approximately 43 percent of SPLOST proceeds are paid by those from outside the county.
The Ware County school system already has received approval for its E-SPLOST. That referendum passed 3,225 to 2,460 in voting during May’s General Primary and will provide up to $50 million for the system over the next five years.
