The Tattnall County Commissioners held their first required Local Option Sales & Use Tax (LOST) Renegotiation Meeting on Monday, June 6, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. 

It is a state requirement that every ten years that a renegotiation meeting be held on the distribution of LOST money before July 1.  This affects the distribution for Tattnall County and the cities of Glennville, Reidsville, Collins, and Cobbtown.

The previous LOST distribution, which began in January 2013 for Tattnall County, was distributed as follows:  Tattnall, 68 percent; Glennville, 19.02 percent; Reidsville, 9.54 percent; Collins, 2.15 percent; and Cobbtown, 1.29 percent, based on population.

To qualify as a municipality to receive LOST funds, they must provide at least three of the following services: water, sewage, garbage collection, police protection, fire protection, or library.

A 60-day period to negotiate and reach an agreement from July 1, 2022, is provided.  If an agreement is not reached within 60 days, the dispute must be submitted to non-binding arbitration or mediation. A new distribution certificate must be received by the Department of Revenue no later than December 30, 2022.

The commissioners and representatives from each of the cities were in attendance at the meeting, and the 2012 Intergovernmental Agreement Reviews for the Recreation Services and Fire Services were distributed to each in attendance. Recreation allocations were previously distributed based on participation within the cities’ recreation departments. Fire Services allocations are based on property values within each GM District of Tattnall County.

The State LOST has been in place since 1980.