THE 2023 SPLOST

The Fayette County Board of Commissioners on December 8, 2022 called for a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum to take place on March 21, 2023. Fayette County voters will decide whether or not to approve the one-penny (one-percent) SPLOST.

Ballot Question

Voters will see the following question on the referendum ballot (final language will be determined by the Fayette County Board of Commissioners):

o YES o NO

Shall a special one-percent sales and use tax be imposed in the special district of Fayette County for a period of time not to exceed six years and for the raising of an estimated amount of $210,000,000 for the purpose of county and municipal capital projects?

SPLOST Defined

The acronym SPLOST stands for “Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax” and is a specific tax rate for a specific period of time. Counties and cities can use SPLOST

For more information visit fayetteville-ga.gov/SPLOST funds for specific capital projects. If the 2023 SPLOST is approved by the voters, the sales tax in Fayette County will remain at 7¢ on every dollar spent. In Georgia, the State receives four percent (4¢ of every dollar) of the sales tax collected in every county. A 1¢ Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) is shared among the county and any of its municipalities based on an agreed-upon formula. LOST funds can be used by local governments as part of their General Fund operating expenses. Fayette County also has a 1¢, voter-approved E-SPLOST, which is invested solely for use by the Fayette County Board of Education. This comprises our current 6¢ Local Option Sales Tax.

Of the counties immediately surrounding Fayette County, Clayton collects an 8¢ sales tax per dollar, while Coweta, Spalding, Fulton, DeKalb, Henry, and Pike counties all collect 7¢.

The extra penny provided through the SPLOST is only used to fund projects in the county in which it is collected, no matter where the buyer paying the tax lives. This means those living outside Fayette County who shop and dine inside Fayette County are contributing 1¢ of every dollar spent toward specific Fayette County projects.

If approved by voters, the 2023 Fayette County SPLOST will be invested in capital projects throughout the county in the areas of transportation, public safety, infrastructure, and parks and recreation. The overall, countywide projects have been defined in an intergovernmental agreement that includes the specific list of projects for each municipality and the County.

2017 SPLOST Program

On March 21, 2017, a six-year SPLOST referendum passed by voters in Fayette County supporting the use of an additional 1¢ sales tax on approved capital projects throughout the County with an estimated total of $141,014,157. The City of Fayetteville projected collections of $21,098,538 and included a project list estimated at $25,009,872. The projects were grouped into five main categories: Stormwater/Wastewater, Transportation, Public Safety, Parks & Recreation, and Retirement of Debt. Table 1 outlines the projects.