2025 Referendum Information

As you head to the polls on Tuesday, November 4, here’s a quick breakdown of the three local referendum items that could directly affect how we fund schools and local government — and how much of that burden falls on property owners versus being shared more broadly through sales tax. Featured at the bottom is the exact ballot wording.
 
What’s on the ballot
Voters will see three referendum questions related to local taxation and exemptions. Together, they shape how Coweta pays for schools, infrastructure, and services — and how much of it comes from property tax versus sales tax.
 
How we currently pay for local government
Right now, Coweta residents and businesses support government services through three basic types of taxes:

• State Income Tax – paid to the State of Georgia
• Sales Tax (Coweta is currently at 7%)
  • 4% to the State
  • 1% LOST (Local Option Sales Tax)
  • 1% E-SPLOST (Education SPLOST)
  • 1% SPLOST (Special Local Option Sales Tax)
• Property Tax – on homes, land, and business property

 
Why this matters: property tax and sales tax are what local governments and the school system use to run things — schools, roads, public safety, infrastructure, buses, technology, basic capital refreshes, and services.
 
Sales tax vs. property tax — who pays?

• Property tax falls mostly on homeowners and business owners (renters often pay it indirectly through rent).
• Sales tax is spread more broadly and is based on what people spend.
• Coweta is a regional shopping destination — so when people from Heard, Meriwether, Troup, Fayette, etc. shop here, they help pay for our schools and services. That’s good tax policy for a growing county.

 
1^st Referendum: E-SPLOST renewal (1%) keeps school infrastructure strong
This is not a new tax — it’s a renewal of the existing 1% Education SPLOST.

• Pays for new and rebuilt schools (including things like Newnan High School rebuild)
• Funds buses, safety/security equipment, technology
• Allows for ongoing refurbishment of every school every 15–20 years
• Currently brings in just over $50 million annually for Coweta schools
• If it is not renewed, the Board of Education would have to:
  • either raise property taxes (millage) to make up the difference
  • or let facilities/technology decline, which over time can harm property values

Bottom line: renewing E-SPLOST lets us keep relying on shoppers — including non-residents — to help fund our school system instead of pushing the full cost back onto local property owners.
 
2^nd Referendum: New FLOST (Floating Local Option Sales Tax)
Raises sales tax to 8% but reduces property tax; this is the new item on the ballot.

• It would increase local sales tax from 7% to 8%
• But it is required to be used to offset property taxes
• According to local officials, approval of FLOST would:
  • Allow the City of Newnan to reduce almost 100% of its city property tax
  • Allow the County to reduce its portion of property tax by about 50%
  • This reduction would apply to business property owners as well

 
For many, paying one more penny on the dollar in sales tax — which visitors and shoppers help pay — is preferable to continuing to carry a higher property tax load on our homes and businesses.
 
3^rd Referendum: Senior homestead exemption expansion
The third referendum would increase the homestead exemption for seniors (based on age) to help those on fixed incomes reduce the property tax they pay toward education. This is a targeted relief measure.
 
Please vote
Regardless of how you feel about each item, these are local dollars and local decisions — so your vote truly matters here. Please make time to vote on Tuesday, November 4^th.
 
Thank you for staying engaged in the issues that shape Coweta's business climate and quality of life.
 
Local Referendum Ballot Language:
Continuation of One Percent Sales and Use Tax for Educational Purposes
(Vote for One)
 
Shall a special one percent sales and use tax for educational purposes be continued in Coweta County for a period of time not to exceed 20 calendar quarters and for the raising of not more than $276,475,697 for the purpose of funding the costs of (a) acquiring, constructing and equipping new school buildings, administration buildings, athletic buildings/facilities and other buildings and facilities useful or desirable in connection therewith, (b) adding to, renovating, repairing, rebuilding, improving and equipping existing school buildings, including, but not limited to, Arbor Springs Elementary, Arnco Sargent Elementary, Atkinson Elementary, Brooks Elementary, Canongate Elementary, Eastside Elementary, Elm Street Elementary, Glanton Elementary, Jefferson Parkway Elementary, Moreland Elementary, Newnan Crossing Elementary, Northside Elementary, Poplar Road Elementary, Ruth Hill Elementary, Thomas Crossroads Elementary, Welch Elementary, Western Elementary, White Oak Elementary, Willis Road Elementary, Arnall Middle, Blake Bass Middle, East Coweta Middle, Evans Middle, Lee Middle, Madras Middle, Smokey Road Middle, Maggie Brown, East Coweta High, Newnan High, Northgate High, Winston Dowdell Academy, Westside-Burwell, East Newnan, administration buildings, athletic buildings/facilities and other buildings and facilities useful or desirable therewith, including, without limitation, the Central Educational Center and the Nixon Centre for Performing and Visual Arts, (c) acquiring, installing and equipping portable classrooms, (d) acquiring buses, other vehicles, and equipment, (e) acquiring textbooks, including digital textbooks, (f) acquiring technology, including computers and software, (g) acquiring band instruments, (h) acquiring School Security equipment and (i) acquiring land for future facilities (the “Projects”)? If the continuation of the tax is approved by the voters, such vote shall also authorize the Coweta County School System to issue, but shall not obligate the School System to issue, general obligation debt of the School System in the maximum principal amount of $60,000,000 for the above purposes.
 
Coweta County One Percent Floating Local Option Sales and Use Tax for Ad Valorem Tax Reduction
(Vote for One)
 
Shall a special 1 percent sales and use tax be imposed in the special district of Coweta County for a period of time not to exceed 20 calendar quarters for the purpose of property tax relief in the City of Chattahoochee Hills, the City of Grantville, the City of Haralson, the Town of Moreland, the City of Newnan, the City of Senoia, the Town of Sharpsburg, and the Town of Turin, and Coweta County, Georgia as provided in Title 48, Chapter 8, Article 2B of the Official Code of Georgia.
 
Increased Senior Homestead Exemptions for Taxes related to Local Education
(Vote for One)
 
Shall the Act be approved which raises the homestead exemption from Coweta County School District ad valorem taxes for educational purposes from $60,000.00 to $75,000.00 of the assessed value for residents of that school district who are 65 years of age but less than 71 years of age, from $85,000.00 to $100,000.00 of the assessed value for residents of that school district who are 71 years of age but less than 75 years of age, and from $115,000.00 of the assessed value to a full exemption from all ad valorem taxes for educational purposes for residents of that school district who are 75 years of age or older?