Washington County citizens voted “yes” on both the continuation of SPLOST and the implementation of a FLOST during the Tuesday, March 18 Special Election.
District 2 and District 4 voters also elected Rita Hunt and Rodney Walker to the Board of Education.
57.9 percent of voters opted in favor of continuing the the current 1 percent Special Purpose Local Options Sales and Use Tax.
The cities of Davisboro, Harrison, Oconee, Riddleville, Sandersville, and Tennille chose “yes,” while Deepstep and Warthen voted “no.”
The in-person and mail-in early votes also both favored “yes.”
According to Interim County Administrator Chris Hutchings, this 1 percent sales tax has been in place since first voted into effect in the 1990’s.
The SPLOST is to be imposed in Washington County over a 6 year period to raise an estimated $27 million for the purpose of projects countywide and in Sandersville, Tennille, Davisboro, Deepstep, Harrison, Oconee, and Riddleville.
Proceeds from the SPLOST will be to pay for capital projects in the seven Washington County cities. Among other plans, countywide, it would complete the final six payments on the Washington County Jail built in 2015, make new payments for a major expansion of the Kaolin Park Recreation Complex, and help purchase law enforcement, fire, and medical vehicles and equipment.
The major recreation expansion would be new baseball, softball, track, football, and soccer fields at the Recreation Department.
“There has been growth in the Rec. Department usage making this expansion needed to accommodate activities for our youth,” said Interim County Administrator Hutchings. “It will allow Washington County to host larger regional and state tournaments. The economic impact from hosting these tournaments will be very significant.”
City projects funded by the SPLOST mainly include building, street, and water/sewer system improvements and repairs.
54 percent of Washington County voters also chose to implement a FLOST within the county.
Like with SPLOST, the cities of Davisboro, Harrison, Oconee, Riddleville, Sandersville, and Tennille voted “yes,” while Deepstep and Warthen opted for “no.”
Again, the in-person and mail-in early votes also both favored “yes.”
An additional 1 percent Floating Local Option Sales and Use Tax will be exercised for 5 years within the special taxing district to raise proceeds exclusively used to reduce Washington County and City property taxes.
When passed by elected officials, the sales tax in Washington County will increase from 8 percent to 9 percent beginning in July of this year.
Proceeds from FLOST are to be used to roll back the property taxes for each property-owning taxpayer.
The county tax bill used to fund the hospital, Development Authority, fire departments, and public schools will be rolled back by roughly 17 percent.
According to the County Administrator, as an example, if your county property tax bill is $1,000, it would be reduced by $170 to $830. The property tax rollback is to take effect next year.
With the passage of FLOST, the cities of Tennille, Davisboro, Deepstep, Riddleville, and Harrison will have their city property taxes entirely rolled back. Sandersville residents are set to see their city property taxes rolled back by roughly 50 percent.
Law states that FLOST must be used to roll back property taxes. It cannot be used to create a windfall for a city or county.
Following the resignation of two Board of Education members in recent months, the special election was also needed to elect a pair of representatives to complete the current unexpired terms.
District 2 voters elected Rita Hunt to assume the seat occupied by Zach Webb.
Hunt received 52.1 percent of the 568 votes in an election decided by only 24 votes.
Webb won Election Day voting in Davisboro and Riddleville. Hunt took the Election Day votes in Sandersville and Warthen, as well as the in-person and mail-in early vote.
Webb was appointed by the Board of Education to the position following the resignation of Kristi Jenkins in November of last year. Jenkins stated that she was relocating her residence to outside of her District and would in-turn need to step down.
In December, the Board voted to appoint Zach Webb to the position so that the seat would have a voting representative until the election in mid-March.
Webb was originally defeated for the spot by Jenkins in a 2022 runoff election.
Voters in District 4 decided to elect the appointed incumbent Rodney Walker.
Walker defeated Felicia Henderson Davis by receiving 66.7 percent of the 471 votes.
He won Election Day voting in the three District 4 precincts of Oconee, Sandersville, and Tennille. Davis garnered more mail-in early votes, while Walker took the in-person early votes.
Rodney Walker was voted by the Board to assume the District 4 seat in January, taking over the position left vacant by the resignation of Melvin Williams in December.
Williams cited health concerns for his reason to renounce the seat.
Hunt and Walker will complete the unexpired terms of the previous elected Board of Education members, which runs through 2026.
Only 1,829, or 13.7 percent, of the 13,332 active registered voters in Washington County took part in the Special Election. 41.8 percent of participants voted during the early voting process.