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Commission approves SPLOST 2027 IGA, accepts Plan First MOA and approves small Publix opioid settlement
Summary
The board approved a draft IGA for SPLOST 2027 to extend collections to six years (with projected $75–90M collections), adopted the Georgia DCA Plan First MOA, and approved the disclosure for a Publix opioid settlement that yields $9,662.34 to Oconee County.
The county board on Jan. 6 advanced a cluster of finance and planning items intended to prepare Oconee County for capital programming and grant opportunities.
SPLOST 2027 intergovernmental agreement: staff described a draft IGA with the county’s cities to jointly allow a six‑year Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) collection period rather than five years. Projected total collections were estimated at $75–90 million; city allocations were shown (e.g., Watkinsville 7.77% ≈ $5.87M) and county‑level allocations would leave roughly $65–78 million for county projects. Staff identified major program buckets including parks and recreation (about 39% of county allocation, roughly $24–30.8M), water resources, radio system upgrades and vehicles. Commissioners approved the IGA motion to proceed toward the election call process.
Plan First: the board approved a memorandum of agreement with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) confirming the county’s Plan First designation. The MOA provides technical assistance, recognition, bonus points on certain housing tax credit applications and other non‑financial supports; county staff committed to a small set of aspirational implementation items.
Publix opioid settlement disclosure: staff summarized the county’s share of a confidential national settlement with Publix, which nets Oconee County $9,662.34; attorney fees and common fund distributions were described. Because the settlement is otherwise confidential, open‑meetings/open‑records requirements required public disclosure of the material settlement features. The board approved the settlement disclosure.
What’s next: staff will finalize city allocations for the SPLOST IGA and proceed with the board action to send a resolution to the board of elections to call the referendum; county staff will continue coordination with DCA under Plan First.
