Macon-Bibb Commission wants residents to know how important OLOST is

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Macon-Bibb County Commissioners want you to know the importance of a new penny sales tax.

Mayor Pro Tem Al Tillman called a special news conference Monday afternoon to discuss the Other Local Options Sales Tax (OLOST).

Tillman, along with Commissioners, Virgil Watkins, Larry Schlesinger, and Elaine Lucas all took the podium pleading residents to support the OLOST. The OLOST needs the approval from the delegation to put the new penny sales tax on the ballot this November.

Macon-Bibb County resident, Cassandra Powell, says she will be calling her her representative, Bubber Epps.

“We already just paid 3 mill tax increase,” said Powell.” It negatively impacts the entire community. It doesn’t matter if you own the property or you’re renting it.”

Commissioners are counting on the OLOST to help them out from a $10 million deficit.

“We need all citizens to be contacting our legislative delegation for Macon-Bibb and ask them to vote to pass to work as hard as they can to work to pass legislation to allow our community to vote on an OLOST,” said Lucas.

The OLOST would work similar to the SPLOST. The penny sales tax would generate an estimated $26 million. Commissioners want 50 percent of that to the operations of the government and and the other 50 percent to a 3 mill property tax rollback.

“The 100 percent was not acceptable to our delegation a large number of our legislators and so from what we understand, it will not move forward,” said Lucas.

That 100% proposal would have rolled back around 6 mills. But commissioners are hopeful this 50/50 plan will pass with your help.

“If we don’t make a change, we’re either going to go broke as a county, or the services that we see or deliver, will drastically change,” said Watkins.