Georgia counties to decide this fall on transportation tax

Voters in multiple Georgia counties will decide this November whether to adopt or extend a transportation tax to cover improvements to local infrastructure.

The transportation sales tax referendum on ballots in locales that include Baldwin, Dougherty and Walker counties each would authorize a 1% tax solely for transportation purposes. The Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax can be used for purposes that include roads, bridges, public transit and seaports.

Georgia law mandates at least 30% of sales tax revenue must be used for projects consistent with the state’s strategic transportation plan.

Transportation tax basics

There are multiple types of local option sales taxes. The first is a regional tax. The second is a single-county tax. Two other sales tax collections are imposed in the Atlanta and Fulton areas.

The Atlanta- and Fulton-area taxes and the single-county tax fully apply to motor vehicle transactions. The regional tax collections apply only to the first $5,000 of a motor vehicle transaction.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, 105 of the state’s 159 counties have in place a transportation sales tax.

Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes do not apply to fuel purchases.

Baldwin County

The Nov. 7 ballot in Baldwin County will include a question to benefit transportation work.

Voters in the county located northeast of Macon will decide whether to raise the 7% local sales tax by 1% to 8%. The tax increase is estimated to raise $45 million over five years.

Tax revenue would be divvied between the county and the city of Milledgeville. The county would collect 65% of net proceeds, and the city would receive 35%.

Use of the revenue would be limited to transportation purposes such as roads, bridges and other infrastructure improvements.

Collection of the tax would begin in spring 2024 and end by 2029. Voters could decide to renew the tax for an additional five years.

The most recent local option sales tax countywide vote was in 2018. At that time, voters rejected the additional tax by a 53% to 47% margin.

Dougherty County

Ballots in Dougherty County also will include a question to bolster transportation revenue.

The southwest Georgia county’s ballot will ask voters whether to renew the penny sales tax and maintain the 8% tax rate for road work.

In place since July 2019, the tax is estimated to raise $80 million through next summer. The city of Albany receives 67% of tax revenue annually, or 53.6 million, and the county collects 33%, or $26.4 million.

Funds are applied largely for road improvement projects. Money is also used for intersection improvements, paving and resurfacing, road striping, traffic calming and other road projects.

Walker County

Voters in Walker County will again decide on a question to support transportation work.

Ballots in the county that borders the states of Alabama and Tennessee will include a question to impose the 1% transportation tax.

The county previously collected the tax from 2018-2022. Voters rejected the continuation of the tax prior to last year’s sunset date.

Passage of the question to boost the local sales tax rate from 7% to 8% would raise an estimated $45 million over five years. Revenue would be used to repair and resurface roads, bridges and sidewalks.

Walker County would receive 75%, or $6.75 million annually. The county’s five cities would receive the other 25%, or $2.25 million annually. LL

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