Laurens voters pass tax relief referendum

Laurens County voters overwhelmingly approved a one-cent sales tax Tuesday designed to offset local property taxes.

The referendum on the new floating local option sales tax, or FLOST, passed with 64 percent of vote. In its first full year, the new tax is projected to cut county commission taxes in half and do away with property taxes altogether in Dublin, East Dublin and the county’s five other municipalities.

The tax will not impact county and city school taxes.

Tuesday’s vote came on the heels of a 31 percent tax increase passed by the Laurens County Commissioners – the first tax hike levied by the commission in more than a decade, which raised concerns into the election about how residents would react to the referendum.

According to unofficial results, the referendum passed with 11,027 votes in favor of the measure and 6,325 against.

“Once the public realized it wasn’t just another tax, that it was going to reduce their property taxes, a lot of people got on board with it,” County Commissioner Gerad Mathis said. 

With Dublin-Laurens County the commercial hub for the region, local officials are banking on visitors who shop and travel through to shoulder a larger share of the tax burden. The new tax is projected to generate about $13.5 million annually countywide. By law, 100 percent of FLOST proceeds must be used to offset property taxes paid by homeowners, businesses and industries.

“After a full year, people are really going to see a big benefit from this,” said Commission Chairman Jimmy Rogers. “I’m just grateful that the people trusted us and what we told them was going to happen is going to happen. Anytime we can, we’re going to do anything in our power to reduce their property taxes. That’s what we’re here for, for the people, and I think people are going to be happy with this.”

The sales tax will take effect in January. County officials expect the money collected over the final six months of fiscal year 2027, which ends in July, to more than offset the tax increase. A full year of collections could cut the commission’s millage in half, from 7 mills to 3.5.

Residents and business owners in Dublin, East Dublin, Dudley, Dexter, Rentz, Cadwell and Montrose could end up paying no local property taxes.

“We should get enough to eliminate municipal taxes,” said Mathis. “The commissioners thank the public for trusting us with this, and We promise it will be used to reduce property taxes.

“I think, on a national level, there’s so many people who don’t trust the government right now, but we’re trying to do government the right way. We’re just regular people trying to do the right thing.”

How the revenue will be divided

An intergovernmental agreement between the county and its municipalities spells out how the money will be divided. The tax can run for no longer than five years, unless it’s renewed. It is expected to generate about $67.5 million over that five-year span.

The sales tax revenue cannot be used for relief from school taxes, and would not be applied toward Dublin City or Laurens County school tax bills.

Laurens County will receive the largest share of the revenue, at 61.9 percent, to apply toward offsetting the property tax it levies. The city of Dublin will receive 34.6 percent, followed by East Dublin with 1.6 percent. Rentz (.51 percent); Dudley (.50 percent); Dexter (.401 percent); Cadwell (.295 percent); and Montrose (.15 percent) will split the remainder.

The expected share over the tax’s five-year span for each governmental entity is:

– Laurens County: $41.78 million

– Dublin: $23.4 million

– East Dublin: $1.08 million

– Dudley: $337.500

– Dexter: $270,675

– Cadwell: $199,125

– Rentz: $344,250

– Montrose: $101,250