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Scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially during the evening. Low 71F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially during the evening. Low 71F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Updated: August 8, 2022 @ 4:07 pm
Winder City Council passed a resolution after a closed executive session Tuesday, Aug. 1, which will allow the city to propose a new agreement with the county for the distribution of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) across the county and its municipalities.
The resolution also seeks to end litigation with the county over Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) and calls for a Transportation Special Option Local Sales Tax (T-SPLOST) to be added to the ballot in November's General Election.
Winder officials are challenging the distribution of LOST funds being based entirely on population. According to Mayor David Maynard, the Georgia General Assembly says that population alone should not determine the sharing of this sales tax.
"The law states that the sales tax is intended to fund services required in commercial and downtown areas. It’s also intended to provide relief of property taxes to our homeowners," said Maynard.Â
"Our outstanding service delivery issues must be resolved in order for Winder to abide by Georgia law and provide justice to our citizens."
To reach an agreement on the LOST funds, Georgia law requires cities and counties to consider and attempt to resolve SDS issues and tax inequities for constituents.
Currently, City of Winder shares the one-cent LOST with five neighboring municipalities and the county, all of which receive different percentages of the penny according to the 10-year agreement. Â
The most recent distribution certificate from 2012 to 2022Â will expire Dec. 31 and a new agreement is required by Dec. 30.
"Failure to reach a timely agreement will result in the expiration of the sales tax. Loss of the sales tax will require a subsequent property tax increase or a reduction in services, or both," said a press release from the city.
"I'm not sure we should take a chance on losing $3 million of revenue in sales taxes if we don't reach an agreement and find ourselves unable to collect a sales tax," Terrell said.
"If we can't collect sales taxes, it affects everyone, not just the City of Winder's budget, but it affects Braselton, Auburn, Bethlehem and Statham."
"I was hoping we could reach an agreement on LOST without tying it to the SDS issues," said Terrell.
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