As of July 1, 1985, Georgia law enabled local jurisdictions to use SPLOST proceeds for capital improvement projects that would otherwise be paid for with General Fund or property tax revenues. SPLOST stands for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. This is a 1-cent sales tax, which the State of Georgia allows counties to collect to fund specific improvement projects.
SPLOST must be approved by voters in a general referendum in order to be enacted and last for a maximum of 72 months (6 years). The SPLOST projects and the amount of money raised by SPLOST were identified prior to voting on the SPLOST VII referendum. The proceeds of the tax must be spent for capital (non-operating) items by the county government and participating municipalities within the county.
On November 5, 2013, the voters of Lowndes County approved a seventh round of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) collections. SPLOST VII collections began January 1, 2014 and will end December 31, 2019. The Lowndes County Board of Commissioners will officially approve projects over the next six years as enough funds become available to cover the cost of each improvement.