MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Those extra pennies you pay in sales tax at the checkout add up to millions of dollars. We're getting a better idea about where some of that money is going.
The City of Milledgeville and the Baldwin Board of Commissioners are working to decide how to split that money for the next decade.
"It's hard to pick out one thing that these resources are going to go to,” Baldwin Commission Chairman Henry Craig says.
Craig explains most cities and counties must come together to decide how to split local sales tax money.
"It will amount to about $8 million a year, so that's $80 million for 10 years and 39% to the city and 61% to the county.”
Craig says the county has a constitutional duty that requires them to provide certain services to their community, so over half the money automatically goes to that.
"That's everything in this building, the tax assessor, the tax commissioner. We also provide first responder support for our fire department, for our sheriff,” Craig says.
The rest goes for things like recreation and additional services like the animal shelter.
Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan says she wants the public's opinion on how to best spend their money, and wants to eventually hold a town hall to see what the community's needs are.
"We need to do something in recreation on our side to help our students. Keep them encouraged and engaged in the right activities. Of course, we have public safety and of course we have water and sewer, so we got to make sure, because that serves the community,” she says.
In 2019, the city sued the county when they couldn't reach an agreement over providing certain governmental services, however the mayor says now they're working as a team.
"We started to work together and come together to say, ‘Hey, it's not about us, it's about our constituents and doing the right thing. We can't do anything about the past, but we can do something about the moment that we're in right now moving forward,'” Parham-Copelan says.
Sandra Jackson lives in Baldwin County. She says more money should go towards recreational options for families.
"I will advocate for the single mother or the single father that cannot afford to pay more than one fee for three or four kids to participate in the same program,” Jackson explains. “Think about the single-parent households struggling out here in Baldwin County.”.
Both Chairman Craig and Mayor Parham-Copelan say they're looking forward to working together to bring bigger joint projects to the city and county.
Around next March, they'll meet to discuss a special local sales tax to raise money for those.