ESPLOST up for renewal in election
Jason Lewis
A sales tax will be on the ballot this November.
The 1% sales tax, called the Floating Local Option Sales Tax, or FLOST, is part of House Bill 581, which was passed in March 2024 and approved in November’s general election with the purpose of providing relief to homeowners by limiting the amount that property taxes can increase each year.
The option to add FLOST was written into HB 581 as a way for local governments to make up for the amount of revenue that will be lost with a decrease in the amount of property taxes.
“It helps the Board of Commissioners control millage rates,” county administrator Jason Lewis said, “and it spreads the financial responsibility to everyone — consumers, renters, transients, and still to property owners, instead of using property owners to solely balance the budget.”
The current sales tax rate in Oglethorpe County is 8% and is made up of the 4% state sales tax, a 1% local option sales tax (LOST), a 1% special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST), a 1% transportation special purpose local option sales tax (TSPLOST) and a 1% education special purpose local option sales tax (ESPLOST). Approval of FLOST will raise the county rate to 9%.
Arnoldsville, Crawford and Lexington all levy property taxes, and if FLOST is passed, they will need to come to an agreement on how the money earned from FLOST will be distributed between the cities.
Unlike other special purpose local option sales taxes, money from FLOST will only be used to offset property tax.
“It can’t be used for anything else,” Lewis said. “The referendum language that you’ve seen in the past, like the ESPLOST referendum language, is super long. Ours is literally two sentences.”
Like the ESPLOST, the FLOST must be approved every five years by voters. If FLOST doesn’t pass in the November election, the county will turn to adjusting the millage rates and increasing property taxes.
“I’d say that FLOST is in direct result of 581, because that’s going to hurt our budget for years to come,” commissioner Will Brown said. “This is the only way to offset property taxes without raising property taxes on people that have land outside of the homestead exemption.”
More than two-thirds of voters in Oglethorpe county voted to opt in to HB 581.
Brown said he expects the millage rate to remain constant if FLOST were to be approved.
FLOST is one of three referendums that will be on the Nov. 4 ballot, along with a valuation freeze for homesteaded properties owned by seniors who are 67 or older and the renewal of the existing ESPLOST.
Lewis said all three of these referendums are aimed at saving property tax money and work together to “fulfill the same mission.”
“It’s a benefit to this community,” School Superintendent Beverley Levine said. “People who live here, you want as many of the hunters who drive through and stop at the Golden Pantry and buy their biscuits contributing to the school system and the county. The more they can contribute, the less that the property owner has to.”