Albany, Dougherty County differ on how to split estimated $100 million sales tax revenue

ALBANY — When it comes to Albany’s $70 million in requests and Dougherty County $36 million, the numbers don’t add up to the $100 million anticipated in sales tax collections over a six-year period.

That’s because this time the city is asking for a 70-30 split instead of the 64-36 split used for the last several special-purpose local-option sales tax initiatives.

That difference of opinion was revealed publicly on Wednesday when the two governments held the first of at least two sessions to discuss the SPLOST, which is planned to be on the ballot for the fall election to extend the sales tax that can be used for capital projects including construction, equipment, and acquiring land and buildings.

While there was no bickering or arguing during the brief meeting, during which the city and county outlined their budget requests for the estimated $100 million in anticipated tax receipts, the sides remain $6 million apart.

“You’ve got 82 percent of the population living within the city of Albany,” Mayor Bo Dorough said in explanation of the city’s request during an interview after the meeting. “We’re in a predicament because the city has not moved forward in sewer separation since 1984.”

A couple of years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notified the city that it must achieve 85 percent separation of stormwater and sewage, a project estimated to cost $105 million.

“We are attempting to figure out a way to alleviate the impact it’s going to have on our rate increases,” the mayor said.

The city also is looking to spend money to develop and improve downtown, a move that would benefit all residents of the county, he said. That includes the Albany Civil Rights Institute.

“It could be a destination,” Dorough said. “The Civil Rights Institute should be a destination. We want to see it play a powerful role and highlight our role in the civil rights movement.”

The county’s counter is that its request includes $10 million that would be spent inside the city of Albany.

On a separate sales tax, the local-option sales tax (LOST), the city and county maintain a 60 percent split for the city and 40 percent for the county, Dougherty Commissioner Clinton Johnson said. The county has in the past agreed to give a larger share to the city on the latter.

“I think we’ll work it out, because we have a relationship,” Johnson said. “I talk with those (city) commissioners.”

The clock is ticking, Albany City Attorney Nathan Davis told the group of elected officials. To stay on track for putting the sales tax referendum to voters in November for a six-year extension with no cap on collections during that period, the ballot information must be transferred to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office by Aug. 12.

Before that, the county’s election board must approve the measure, and its next meeting is scheduled for July 20.

If the two sides can’t come to an agreement, the sales tax could only be extended for a five-year period, and it would be capped at a certain amount, after which no more money would be collected.

County Commissioner Gloria Gaines said she was confident the issue will be ironed out. She said she would be agreeable to a group of three from each board meeting to hash out details.

“We serve the same people, and we understand that,” she said. “We are collecting the money from the same group of people. We always work it out.”

File Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]