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Commission OKs resolution to backstop $30 million school bond with levy authority if SPLOST revenues fall short
Summary
The Board voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution that authorizes the county to levy ad valorem taxes to pay principal and interest on up to $30 million in Newton County School District general obligation bonds (Series 2025) if education SPLOST revenues are insufficient.
On March 4 the Newton County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the county to levy ad valorem taxes to pay principal and interest on up to $30 million in Newton County School District general obligation bonds, Series 2025, if education SPLOST (E-SPLOST) revenues prove insufficient to service the debt.
County legal staff explained the resolution functions as a backstop required by bond underwriter disclosure and securities rules: the E‑SPLOST is the expected primary revenue source, and the school district will use SPLOST collections to pay debt service. The resolution directs the county, as the taxing authority, to levy such taxes only if SPLOST collections are inadequate.
County counsel and school counsel were present to answer questions. The board heard an extended plain-language explanation distinguishing SPLOST (a sales tax dedicated to capital projects) from property-tax millage and emphasized that the resolution does not immediately impose a new property tax but preserves the taxing authority to be used only if SPLOST revenues are insufficient.
Commissioner Stan Edwards made the motion; Commissioner Karen Lindsey seconded it. The motion passed 5-0.
