Chatham County and the City of Savannah submitted their proposals Wednesday to Superior Court for how an estimated $600 million in sales tax proceeds should be distributed during the next 10 years.
Savannah stands to lose about $109 million in sales tax revenue, if a distribution proposal submitted by Chatham County is approved, based on expected revenue from the tax.
The county’s proposal would cut Savannah’s allotment of 67 percent to 48 percent, while increasing Chatham’s share from 17.8 percent to 33 percent – amounting to an estimated $79 million increase compared to the current percentage.
In addition, Garden City’s allotment would be reduced from 5.8 percent to 3.3 percent.
Pooler and Port Wentworth would receive increased amounts, while the portions would remain relatively flat for Tybee Island, Bloomingdale, Thunderbolt and Vernonburg.
Savannah’s and Garden City’s percentage reductions would be phased in over a period of three years to “soften the budgetary impact", according to the court brief submitted by County Attorney Jon Hart.
Hart stated that rational for the percentages was based on population shifts and services responsibilities. Hart said that the unincorporated county’s population has grown more than 20 percent during the past decade, while Savannah had minimal growth. The city’s population increased by 4,776 residents from 2000 to 2010, according to the 2010 Census.
In addition, the county provides unique services to all residents of the county, including animal control, emergency management and inmate housing at the jail, that have increased in cost, Hart said.
The city’s proposal would initially increase the county’s share from 17.8 percent to 18 percent, and then raise it to 19 percent during a period of four years. This would immediately increase the County’s share by about $126,000 per year, and then to $756,000 per year over the four years, according to City Attorney Brooks Stillwell.
Under the cities proposal, Savannah’s share will go down by approximately $3.2 million in the first year, and approximately 3.9 million in the fourth year, Stillwell said.
Stillwell said Savannah’s drop was a result of the population growth in Pooler and Port Wentworth.
State law requires the local option sales tax be renegotiated within two years after each 10-year census. The decision on which proposal to implement is now the responsibility of Robert Adamson, senior judge of the Superior Courts of Georgia. Adamson was selected to preside over the case after the county and cities failed to reach an agreement during the 60-day negotiation and mediation periods last year.
The case's trial date is scheduled for March 4.