Henry County leaders discuss FLOST referendum, timeline and how proceeds would be used

Henry County officials, municipal leaders and state association representatives met in a joint session to review the new Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST), explain eligibility rules and warn that an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) must be completed quickly if the county and cities want a FLOST question on the November ballot.

The meeting centered on House Bill 581 (2024), the law that created FLOST and a statewide floating homestead exemption. Phil Sutton, a consultant with Rochester DCCM retained by Henry County, told elected officials that FLOST revenue “is to be used exclusively to provide property tax relief.”

The discussion clarified how FLOST would operate in practice and why local agreements matter. Sutton said the tax can be levied at up to 1 percentage point of sales tax, collections would begin January 1, 2026 if voters approve the measure on Nov. 4, 2025, and the county would use 2026 sales-tax receipts to compute the millage rollback applied in tax year 2027. He warned that the calendar is tight: the IGA and related resolutions must be completed and submitted to election officials in August or the county would need to wait for an off-cycle election in March.

Why it matters: FLOST and the statewide homestead rule address different parts of the tax equation. The homestead float or freeze limits growth in the assessed value for qualifying homestead properties; FLOST reduces millage rates and thus affects all properties — residential and nonresidential. Dante Bridal of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) summarized that FLOST is “not providing additional revenues” to local governments but is intended to lower the rollback millage rate for taxpayers.

Officials emphasized residents would not need to take action to receive the better benefit. John Self, chief appraiser, and other tax office staff said the tax assessor and tax commissioner will run comparisons so each homeowner receives whichever option — the existing frozen homestead or the FLOST-driven rollback — offers the greater benefit.

Several municipal leaders raised operational questions. Locust Grove officials confirmed their special-district taxes and existing 100% homestead exemption would not automatically block eligibility because the city still collects commercial tax revenues; Locust Grove staff said the city is moving forward to impose a property tax this year so it can participate in any IGA. McDonough city attorney Emilia Walker asked whether the local motor-vehicle (TABT) tax would qualify; county staff and association representatives responded that FLOST eligibility hinges on real-property millage levies reported on state forms (PT-31 for counties, PT-35 for cities) and that a personal-property motor-vehicle tax would likely not qualify.

Distribution and negotiation: ACCG and the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) told attendees that state law gives broad flexibility to negotiate how FLOST proceeds are split between the county and participating cities. Neither association is prescribing a single method; they noted jurisdictions can negotiate splits based on digest share, millage, population or other locally chosen measures. Several mayors and city managers asked whether population baselines should use 2020 Census figures; county staff advised using the most recent census data (2020) as a stable baseline but acknowledged local leaders could recommend alternate counts.

Practical steps and deadlines: County staff and consultants listed the immediate steps needed to reach the ballot — draft and sign an IGA specifying the distribution, pass resolutions authorizing officials to sign the IGA and to notify election officials, finalize ballot language (included in the IGA), and provide the ballot information to the elections office and ballot vendors in time for advertising and early voting. Sutton projected potential revenue from a 1¢ sales tax for the county over the multi-year period, saying historic SPLOST receipts suggest a projection “about $353,000,000,” and reiterated that all collections and interest must be applied to millage rollbacks, not new spending.

No formal votes were taken at the meeting. Staff were directed to continue technical calculations, to convene city managers and clerks immediately to draft an IGA and to prepare the documents needed by the elections office. County managers said they may call additional meetings because the timeline to place FLOST on the November ballot is short.

The meeting closed with staff noting pending state growth reports needed to finalize related millage advertising; county staff said they were awaiting those determinations and were working nights and weekends to meet the statutory advertising deadlines.