THOMASVILLE- Early voting in the Municipal General/Special and SPLOST election is underway at The Thomas County Board of Elections office. With it being only a local election and SPLOST on the ballot again, it is more important than ever to understand what the existing one cent Special Purpose local option sales tax is.

The local option sales tax goes toward a variety of capital improvements in Thomas County, allowing for growth in population and industry.

“The County has only two sources for additional money to pay for growth; the property tax or the sales tax,” said County Manager Mike Stephenson. “The sales tax is the fairest tax and it requires voter approval. The property tax is the most unpopular tax, but it only requires the approval of the Board of Commissioners.”

The property tax is widely considered unpopular, because many people who live in Thomas County do not own property. However, everyone has to pay a sales tax.

“Payment of sales tax is spread out over the entire year instead of being paid all at once like the property tax,” Stephenson explained. “According to the Chamber of Commerce, over 30% of the sales tax will be paid by shoppers from other counties and Florida.”

While the ballot will not show the exact projects the SPLOST will benefit, voters can feel confident in knowing that SPLOST can only be used for certain purposes.

The eligible expenditures that qualify for SPLOST include road, street and bridge improvements; the construction of government buildings and facilities; the construction of of public safety facilities; the purchase of public safety equipment; the construction of recreation facilities; the construction of library facilities and the construction of water, sewer, and/or storm water capital outlay projects to be owned and operated by qualified municipalities within the special district.

Georgia law strictly regulates how sales tax funds can be spent. County and municipality finances are independently audited every year and special attention is paid to sales tax expenses.

Currently, the 7 cent sales tax in Thomas County is divided four ways.

Four cents goes to the State of Georgia, where over half of the money is spent on education and much of it comes back to the local community to pay the salaries of teachers and fund local education.

One cent, known as EPLOST, goes directly toward the local school systems to build new schools and improve existing ones.

One cent, known as SPLOST, goes directly to Thomas County and each municipality in Thomas County to build roads, water and sewer facilities and other capital improvements.

The final one cent, known as LOST, goes to Thomas County and its municipalities to roll back property taxes and fund various local services including the library, recreation department and animal control.

The vote to approve SPLOST for another year would contribute to all of these facilities and municipalities continuing to provide the services residents have come to know and depend on.