While it is weeks before voters go to the polls to cast ballots on potential expansion of the transportation special local option sales tax and the creation of a floating special local option sales tax, Liberty County and the cities have come up a way with divide the potential FLOST proceeds.

The county and the three cities that have a millage rate or are about to impose one — Hinesville, Flemington and Walthourville — will split up the proceeds of the 1% tax on the value of 1 mill.

“We were trying to find a fair way to distribute those funds,” Hinesville’s chief financial officer Kim Ryon told council members. “There were several ways to look at it.”

Should FLOST get passed, its proceeds will be applied to rolling back the millage rates. No proceeds from FLOST can be used for any other purpose — its collections have to be applied to property tax relief.

“You must roll back the millage rate by what you collected,” Ryon said.

Under the agreement reached, the county will get 61.463% of the tax’s proceeds. Hinesville will receive 33.7%, Flemington will get 2.728% and Walthourville will receive 2.107%.

“We tried to get more,” Mayor Karl Riles said of the negotiations. “And they tried to get more.”

“It was another great collaborative effort,” county attorney Kelly Davis said. “This will be a great benefit to the taxpayers of Liberty County and the residents of the cities.”

The FLOST, if approved, will last for five years. The property tax relief will extend to all property owners, either home owners or owners of commercial property. The amount raised by the FLOST cannot exceed the amount collected in property taxes.

Ryon estimated the FLOST would bring in $14 million a year total, and with Hinesville’s allocation, that would be equivalent to 4.5 mills. That would result in about a 40% reduction in city property taxes.

Should the FLOST be approved, collections would start April 1, 2026 and the proceeds would be applied to the 2027 digest.

“It takes a while to generate the revenue to apply it,” Davis added.

TSPLOST, which narrowly failed in 2024, will be a six-year extension if renewed. The current TSPLOST expires in September.

The TSPLOST, if approved, is expected to bring in $87.6 million to be directed toward road and drainage projects.

“It’s been a great collaborative effort,” Liberty County Commission Chairman Donald Lovette said.

County commissioners gave their approval to a resolution to place the FLOST and the TSPLOST on the November ballot.

Registration to vote in the upcoming FLOST and TSPLOST elections will end October 6. Early voting for FLOST and TSPLOST will begin October 14.