City Council previews SPLOST VI agreement

In their July 8 regular monthly meeting, Blairsville City Council and Mayor Robert “Buddy” Moore discussed how much the city is estimated to receive if the upcoming SPLOST continuation succeeds at the ballot box next year.

A referendum call is currently in the works, so the discussion at City Hall last week was only an early step toward SPLOST VI appearing for voter consideration in the May 2026 General Primary Election.

Moore told the council he recently asked Sole Commissioner Harold Collins for a greater allocation than the 8.5% the city negotiated for SPLOST V collections, and the two agreed to an additional 0.5% to make the city’s share of the next SPLOST 9% should it pass electoral muster.

The council agreed with the larger percentage, which will be finalized later this year when an intergovernmental agreement is signed by both the city and county. The agreement will contain categories for capital outlay projects on which collections would be spent.

Based on average collections from recent years, at the newly proposed 9% allocation, the city would receive an estimated $3.87 million from SPLOST VI. That puts total projected SPLOST VI collections at $43 million, with the county’s estimated portion coming in at $39.13 million.

A SPLOST, or Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, is a 1% countywide sales tax levied against eligible goods and services to finance voter-approved capital outlay projects, such as new facilities, facility upgrades and emergency vehicles.

Each SPLOST lasts six years, and the current SPLOST – SPLOST V – runs through March 2027. By the time SPLOST V ends, Union County will have had a continuous SPLOST in place since 1997, and it will continue through March 2033 should SPLOST VI pass.

Voting for the SPLOST will not mean a tax increase, but instead, a continuation of the 1% sales tax that has been in place for nearly 30 years. Continuing the SPLOST would keep the sales tax in Union County at 7%, or 7 cents on the dollar.

Union County’s 7% sales tax is composed of the following: a statewide tax of 4%; a permanent Local Option Sales Tax, or LOST, of 1%; a SPLOST of 1%; and an Education-SPLOST of 1% for the schools.

SPLOST is frequently billed as a way to help keep property taxes down by more fairly distributing the tax burden to everyone who purchases goods and services, including out-of-town visitors.

Examples of past SPLOST projects around the county include the Farmers Market, Meeks Park, Sports Center, and Voting Center, and the new E-911 Center that is currently under construction is being paid for with SPLOST collections.

Also in the July 8 meeting, the council ratified the city’s estimated 2025 Rollback Millage Rate at 1.064 mills. This was part of the new procedure outlined in House Bill 581 that went into effect this year to more accurately reflect property tax estimates on annual assessment notices.

Additionally, Moore said he spoke with the commissioner about the possibility of doing a joint traffic study to better understand what improvements can be made both inside and outside city limits, with an eye toward implementing traffic improvements in a coordinated fashion.

Among other business, the council voted to enter an agreement with the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission to explore a new grant opportunity to potentially expand city sewer access east of the city on Georgia 515, as has been discussed in recent months.

The agreement will only cost the city if the grant is awarded and subsequently used. The project will still be an expensive undertaking, but the new grant would offset more costs than a previous grant opportunity, so the council will have more to think about at a later date.

In the June 10 regular city meeting, Mayor Moore introduced the upcoming capital project list for discussion, which the council was favorable to.

Projects include looking into removing an extra beam in council chambers, re-paving Blue Ridge Street, adding lights around the Blairsville Police Department parking lot, zoning water lines and meters to cut down on water leaks, and rehauling the city’s sidewalks.

“Water problems, sidewalks and lights are the main ones,” Moore said of the project list.

Also June 10, City Attorney Marvin Harkins informed the council about a bond involving the Housing Authority of Macon-Bibb County, which in turn impacts local apartment complex Tan Yard Branch inside Blairsville city limits.

“The only reason this is involving us is because the Macon-Bibb Housing Authority is issuing bonds, and they’re going to loan money from the bonds to the owner of Tan Yard Branch Apartments,” Harkins explained, adding that the owners also operate 12 other complexes across the state.

The $30 million loan is expected to go toward rehabilitating the properties, which entails indoor and outdoor work including new fixtures and flooring, replacing countertops and cabinets, and installing new tubs and showers.

Harkins confirmed that tenants living in units to be renovated will have to be temporarily placed in other housing, and rent will not go up as a result of the renovations, with tenants not expected to pay for the upgrades.

He expressed his belief that the work would be done on both family and single units and confirmed there would be 24 units slated for the rehaul.

Essentially, the reason the issue was brought before the council was because the Macon-Bibb Housing Authority needed permission from Blairsville to work on apartments in this jurisdiction, which was granted that evening and followed by a required public hearing on June 26.

Importantly, the City of Blairsville is not involved financially and has no fiscal liability regarding the local renovations.