Fulton cities unite to oppose county's increased L.O.S.T. share

The 15 cities of Fulton County have banded together to oppose the Local Option Sales Tax distribution increase the county board of commissioners proposed on July 15.

Several of the cities—including Fairburn, the city of South Fulton, East Point and Alpharetta—have issued statements to the press and on social media about the increase saying: “Fulton County Board of Commissioners asked the 15 cities of Fulton County to increase the county’s share of Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) from just under five percent to 35 percent which is a 600 percent increase. This is a surprising request because in 2012, the county agreed to a negotiated percentage of less than 15 percent.”

The statement continued, “Since that time, the county’s service area has significantly shrunk from approximately 90 square miles to less than two square miles in which less than 1,000 residents live. In reality, the cities provide essential services such as police, fire, and sanitation to nearly all the residents of Fulton County. Such a drastic shift in sales tax revenues, $95 million per year, will necessitate raising property taxes on nearly all Fulton County residents and businesses at a time when they can least afford it.”

The county issued its own statement saying that it is mandated by Georgia law to provide services “that protect the constitutional and property rights of over 1 million Fulton County residents, regardless of their city of residence,” including court services, public health, emergency management, elections and more.

“Prior to 2006, Fulton County’s share of Local Option Sales Tax distribution for providing these countywide services was approximately 35%. Over the last 17 years, the demand for these countywide services has grown and additional services have been added, while the population served along with the cost to provide those services has grown significantly,” the statement said. “Yet, during that time, Fulton County’s share of LOST revenue has dropped below 5%, an amount equivalent to what a city with a population of 55,000 and a general fund budget 8 to 10 times lower than the county’s would currently receive.”

The county’s statement continued: “the current LOST distribution share does not provide equitable relief to property taxpayers across the county. Today we shared our desire to return to the LOST distribution share prior to full municipalization. This proposed amount recognizes the services provided to each and every resident of Fulton County, in all 15 cities and would also result in a net tax reduction on tax bills for 86% of all taxable parcels. We look forward to ongoing fruitful discussion with the cities.”

Though the cities are joined in their opposition of the increase, they say they are willing to work with the County Board of Commissioners “to reach a reasonable distribution of the sales tax.”

The L.O.S.T. is a one-penny sales tax that is used by local governments to pay for the cost of vital services such as fire, police, transportation, parks & recreation, and other local government services, which helps keep property taxes down for all taxpayers in Fulton County. The next L.O.S.T. negotiations meeting will take place on Friday, July 29 at 10 a.m.

During this meeting, the cities will present their proposed distribution for L.O.S.T.