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By Annie Bresee

The West Point City Council approved the Harris County 2025 SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) at its meeting Monday night. The revenue from the SPLOST tax collected from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2031, will be designated for infrastructure and road improvements throughout the county.

Harris County is distributing 3% of the SPLOST funds to the city of West Point. The bulk 84% of the tax revenue will go to unincorporated Harris County, followed by 4.1% for Pine Mountain, 3.7% for Hamilton, 3.2% for Waverly Hall, and 2% for Shiloh. West Point is expecting to receive $815,019 over the 6-year SPLOST.

The SPLOST is a 1-cent sales tax, which the state of Georgia allows its counties to collect as funding for specific projects. The voters must approve the SPLOST and its proposed projects through a referendum.

“It’s just a nice little additional revenue stream that we’re able to use for providing service to our community,” said Steve Tramell, mayor of West Point.

The part of West Point in Harris County has no retail stores and as a result doesn’t not generate much toward SPLOST. Tramell said he is grateful for the SPLOST revenue from Harris County.

The commercial heart of the city, downtown West Point, does generate a lot sales tax and is in Troup County.

Tramell said the SPLOST is “highly unfair” in Troup County, where the county government keeps 45% of the SPLOST funds despite generating no sales tax. Another 45% goes to LaGrange and West Point and Hogansville get 5% each.

Harris County will begin collecting the revenue in 2025, after the 2019 SPLOST expires. The 2019 through 2025 SPLOST was voted to be used for public safety vehicles and equipment,

community development building. So far the revenue has been used for the EMS ambulances and medical equipment, renovations on public buildings and facilities, and other city projects in Harris County.