Bulloch County places 1% FLOST referendum on November ballot; approves engineering and FEMA‑related contracts funded by T/SPLOST

Bulloch County commissioners voted Aug. 18 to place a 1% floating local option sales tax (FLOST) on the Nov. 4 ballot and approved multiple engineering contracts and FEMA‑related task orders to advance road and drainage repairs.

County legal staff explained that, if approved, the 1% FLOST would be imposed for five years beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and must be used exclusively for ad valorem property tax relief in accordance with the governing statute. The intergovernmental agreement sets out distribution to the county and municipalities and the board approved placing the referendum on the ballot by unanimous vote.

On capital infrastructure, county engineer Ron Nelson asked the board to advance to stage‑2 final design with Kimley‑Horn for a package of roadway projects (Floyd Clark Road, Deer Run Road/Court/Lane, Grimshaw Road/Lane, Prather Road) with a contract of approximately $726,500 funded by T‑SPLOST; commissioners approved moving forward. The board also approved Parker Engineering task orders for permanent repairs to a bridge wing wall ($18,000) and a reinforced concrete pipe drainage crossing ($33,000), both SPLOST‑funded and tied to FEMA reimbursement plans.

Why this matters: The FLOST referendum, if approved by voters, would create a dedicated revenue stream intended to offset property taxes dollar‑for‑dollar and may change the county’s revenue mix over the next five years. The engineering contracts advance repair and resilience projects that have FEMA and SPLOST funding implications and multi‑year construction schedules.

Representative quote: "In accordance with the FLOST statutes, this 1% sales and use tax must be used exclusively for ad valorem property tax relief," county staff said during the discussion.