Monroe County Commission Chairman Greg Tapley, Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson, and Culloden Mayor Lynn Miller gathered at Forsyth City Hall on Friday afternoon (Dec. 2) to formally sign an agreement between the county and both municipalities on an updated Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenue split.
The three entities agreed to a LOST revenue split that will allow Monroe County to receive 77.1% of LOST revenue, the City of Forsyth to receive 20.5% of LOST revenue, and for the City of Culloden to receive 2.4% of LOST revenue.
As part of the final agreement, Monroe County has okayed allowing the City of Forsyth to nominate a member to the Hospital Authority of Monroe County and a member to the Development Authority of Monroe County at the time of the next term expiration for each Board. Meanwhile, the City of Forsyth has agreed to sell water to Monroe County via a master meter for the county’s north water system customers at a rate of $3 per 1,000 gallons for the 10-year length of the LOST agreement. In return, Monroe County has agreed to complete within three years all engineering, bidding, and construction associated with connecting the county’s north water system with the city’s water system. In addition, Monroe County will allow the City of Forsyth to provide water and sewer service to any development in the Smith Road/I-75 area annexed into the City of Forsyth by H&H Timberlands in December 2020.
The LOST revenue split, which will remain in place for 10 years, had to be agreed upon by all sides by Dec. 30, 2022, or the tax would have ceased to exist. The tax is projected to generate about $4 million annually for Monroe County over the next 10 years.
