SPLOST

In November 2022, Albany and Dougherty County voters approved the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) VIII referendum that allowed for the continuation of a one-cent sales tax to fund a diverse list of community projects. The tax went into effect on April 1, 2023, and will continue until March 31, 2029. SPLOST VIII is estimated to generate $100 million for various community projects, including infrastructure and parks.

Eight previous times before 2022, voters in Albany and Dougherty County approved an extra penny in sales tax to fund packages of diverse community projects over five years. The 2022 referendum was a continuation of the one-cent sales tax; not an additional tax. Georgia law allows local jurisdictions to use SPLOST proceeds for capital improvement projects that would otherwise be paid for with general fund and property tax revenues. In some cases, the cost of these types of community enhancements would present too great a burden to the taxpayers to ever be undertaken. In other cases, the projects would be completed but at a much higher cost to the community. For instance, if a project requires the use of bonds, the cost to the community is significantly higher than what it would be in paid for in cash. In addition, SPLOST has provided the local match for a wide variety of infrastructure improvements and enabled the City of Albany to leverage state and federal transportation funds for the maximum impact on our community.