Dawson County and Dawsonville approve SPLOST VIII intergovernmental agreement; referendum set for May 19, 2026

Dawson County and the City of Dawsonville approved an intergovernmental agreement on Jan. 15 to place a proposed Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST VIII) before county voters on May 19, 2026. The agreement estimates $76,600,000 in proceeds, allocating $67,400,000 (88%) to Dawson County and $9,200,000 (12%) to Dawsonville, and authorizes ballot language to permit up to $15,100,000 in general obligation bonds for county projects.

The joint meeting, held at the Dawson County Government Center Assembly Room, ended with separate motions in each body. The Dawson County Board of Commissioners approved the agreement 4-0 (motion Stowers/Bruce). The Dawsonville City Council approved the agreement 2-1 (motion Illg/Sawyer); Councilmember Mark French recorded the lone dissent. County Manager Joey Leverette and City Manager Jacob Evans read their respective project lists during the meeting; Evans noted a typographical error in the draft agreement reducing the city's project total from $9,320,000 to $9,200,000.

The intergovernmental agreement (Exhibit A) itemizes the county and city project lists, instructs the county to collect and distribute SPLOST proceeds into separate subaccounts for the county and Dawsonville, and sets procedures for bond issuance and record keeping. Under the agreement the county will remit the city's share to Dawsonville monthly and will be responsible for bond issuance if the debt authorization is approved by voters.

The board and council took the approvals as the next formal step toward the May ballot; the county will take actions necessary to call the referendum. No additional formal votes on specific projects were taken at the meeting. The meeting minutes note that public comment included opposition from Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson, who said he "flatly rejects this SPLOST as presented."