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Chatham County commission approves steps to put SPLOST extension before voters
Summary
The commission approved intergovernmental agreements and directed the chairman to call an election asking voters whether to continue the county's 1% special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) beginning Oct. 1, 2026; commissioners emphasized the action only asks voters to decide the extension, not to raise the current rate.
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners voted on July 18 to authorize intergovernmental agreements and to direct the chairman to call a Nov. 4, 2025 election to give voters the opportunity to reimpose a 1% special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) effective Oct. 1, 2026.
According to staff materials read into the record, the intergovernmental agreements identify capital outlay projects and set a revenue distribution process among the county and the municipalities. The board also directed the chairman to execute the IGAs. A motion to approve the IGAs and to request the extension of the 1% sales and use tax passed on the floor; the vote was recorded as passed in the transcript but no roll-call tally was listed.
During discussion a commissioner emphasized to the public that the board's votes were to seek voter approval to extend the existing 1% sales tax, not to add an additional penny. "We are not approving the request of an additional penny to what we already paid. This would merely extend the great things that helped us achieve this... rating," a commissioner said during the meeting (remarks unattributed in the record).
The board then approved a separate resolution directing the chairman to notify the elections superintendent to issue the formal call for the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot question and to take required legal steps for the election. Staff materials filed with the resolution say SPLOST would be reimposed for a six-year period beginning Oct. 1, 2026, and would fund capital projects listed in exhibits attached to the resolution.
The actions taken at the July 18 meeting initiate the legal and administrative steps needed to place the continuation of SPLOST before county voters; the ultimate decision will rest with voters on the November ballot.
