Dooly County finalizes LOST split with cities, sets 2002 millage and authorizes short‑term borrowing

Dooly County’s Board of Commissioners completed a months‑long renegotiation of local sales tax (LOST) distribution with its municipalities and set property tax and short‑term finance measures before year‑end.

After a series of work sessions and a July 1 meeting to negotiate shares among county and city governments, the board approved a Certificate of Distribution on Sept. 27 that allocates 55% of combined county/city LOST to Dooly County and 45% among municipalities (Byromville 3.70%; Dooling 1.13%; Lilly 1.60%; Pinehurst 3.17%; Unadilla 16.20%; Vienna 19.20%). The board also set the 2002 county millage at a gross 17.73 mills (net 15.25 mills after the sales‑tax rollback) following the statutorily required public hearings.

To manage short‑term cash needs the board adopted resolutions in August, September and November authorizing Clerk Stephen C. Sanders (and in some authorizations the chairman or vice chairman) to borrow $200,000 from local banks. The motions establish short‑term warrants and pledge the county’s faith and credit for timely repayment before year‑end; interest rates and signature authorities were recorded in the minutes.

The LOST negotiations were iterative: county and municipal representatives exchanged proposals in public work sessions; when the municipalities could not reach unanimous agreement on their internal allocation, the group agreed to submit the question of city‑to‑city splits to binding arbitration, per O.C.G.A. 48‑8‑89 procedures. The board recorded votes and the executed certificate in the minutes.

Next steps: the clerk filed the distribution certificate with the Georgia Department of Revenue and the county’s adopted millage and tax levy were posted per statute. The short‑term borrowing authorizations remain available until used; repayment was scheduled from 2002 tax revenues.