On Tuesday September 14, 2022, the Rome-Floyd Joint Services Committee voted to accept the proposed recommendation from the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) Subcommittee. This recommendation includes a new LOST distribution. The City of Rome will now receive 45.2%, Floyd County will receive 53.0%, and Cave Spring will remain at 1.8%. This results in a 3.5% increase for the City of Rome and 3.5% decrease for Floyd County.
The proposed agreement also includes a change in ownership in several government properties. The City of Rome will take over ownership, use and operational costs of the Forum River Center and all of its assets. The City will also gain full ownership, use and operational costs of the Town Green, and the Third Avenue Parking Deck. The City of Rome will also assume full operational costs of the John Ross Pedestrian Bridge.
Floyd County will assume full ownership, use and operations costs of the Law Enforcement Center and the Sixth Avenue Parking Deck. The County will also gain full ownership and operational costs of the Parks and Recreation Administration Building on Shorter Avenue.
The City of Rome has also agreed to assume a portion of the County’s debt on the Third Avenue Parking Deck debt payments.
The proposed recommendation will now go to the Floyd County Board of Commissioners and the Rome City Commission for consideration. If the proposed recommendation is approved by both Commissions, the recommendation will be sent to legal to compose an Intergovernmental Agreement, which will also have to be formally adopted by both governing bodies. This is the final step before submission to the Georgia Department of Revenue. The deadline for submission of an agreement on LOST distribution is December 30, 2022. The approved LOST distribution will be in effect for ten years.
