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Commissioners ask state to clear way for homestead-option sales tax referendum to fund roads and property-tax rollback
Summary
Cherokee County commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution asking the county elegation to sponsor special legislation allowing a homestead-option sales tax (HOST) referendum with six local customizations including a 10-year sunset and a 75/25 split favoring homestead rollback; board said the tax could provide roughly $13—2—4 million annually for local roads while rolling back homeownersM&O property tax.
Chairman Johnson told the Board of Commissioners the resolution asks the county elegation to introduce legislation allowing a homestead-option sales tax referendum that would prioritize a property-tax rollback for homestead exemptions and reserve 20'5% for capital projects such as roads. He said the county estimates the measure would "provide about 13 or so, dollars 14,000,000 a year in additional local road funding."
The board discussed several requested changes to the state—nabling language before voting. The customizations the board asked the delegation to consider include a 75/25 split of proceeds (75% for homestead rollback, 25% for capital), sharing the capital portion with cities using the county's SPLOST excess-sharing formula, a 10-year sunset rather than an unlimited term, and an accelerated distribution schedule so homestead rollbacks begin sooner. Representative Jordan Ridley attended the meeting and, the chair said, offered some of the suggested tweaks. Commissioner Wetherby moved to adopt the resolution; Commissioner Carter seconded. "That llows the voters to decide if they want an additional $0.01 sales tax with protections and a sunset," the chair said before the board voted unanimously to approve the resolution.
Next steps: staff will forward the board pproved resolution to the Cherokee County legislative delegation and request the special legislation necessary to place the referendum on the statewide November special-election ballot, with the tax (if enacted) planned to begin in 2026 under the board's requested schedule.
