MACON, Georgia — The Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce wants voters to turn out Tuesday in support of the county's OLOST.
Early voting ends Friday on the sales tax question. If approved, it would raise the sales tax in Macon-Bibb County by a penny starting Jan. 1. In return, county leaders say they'll roll back property taxes a year later.
At a Thursday press conference, business leaders gathered to support the tax. They said by boosting county revenues, the OLOST will help economic development and preserve and create job opportunities.
Mayor Lester Miller said passing the OLOST plan will help build Macon.
"It allows opportunities to build because taxes are going down by a substantial amount if this passes," said Miller. "It allows people to stay in their homes now and not move to other counties, but more important it's bringing people in to have jobs here that weren't willing to build here long-term knowing that their taxes are now not going to be very high."
As of Wednesday afternoon, just over 2,100 people had voted in-person and around 350 had returned absentee ballots. That's about 2% of registered voters.