Property Tax Relief Referendum (FLOST) Set for May 19, 2026
Published on April 27, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Property Tax Relief Referendum (FLOST) Set for May 19, 2026
City of Albany and Dougherty County approve intergovernmental agreement to place one-cent sales tax question on ballot to reduce property taxes
Albany, GA — The Dougherty County Board of Commissioners and the Albany City Council have approved an intergovernmental agreement to place a voter referendum on May 19, 2026, ballot to consider the Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST).
“FLOST is an opportunity for residents to decide whether they want to add a one-cent sales tax in order to lower their property taxes by the amount collected from the FLOST sales tax,” said Commission Chairman Lorenzo Heard. “It’s an opportunity we will put before voters, because ultimately they know what’s best when it comes to their personal financial matters.”
“Some amount of sales tax is paid by visitors, whereas only residents pay property taxes,” Heard said. “This presents a chance to shift some of the tax burden to part-time residents, visitors, and others doing business in Albany and Dougherty County.” Estimates indicate up to 35%–40% of the sales tax may be collected from visitors, part-time residents, and others.
FLOST is a 1% sales tax dedicated exclusively to property tax relief. It is not a new source of revenue for local government; instead, it is intended as a dollar-for-dollar exchange of sales taxes coming in and property taxes going out. Under the City and County proposal, the same percentage property tax reduction would apply to all taxpayers.
Sales tax proceeds would be distributed between the City of Albany and Dougherty County based on current property tax collections.
The FLOST sales tax is not additional revenue for the City or the County. By law, FLOST funds must be used exclusively for property tax relief. If approved by voters, FLOST would be collected countywide for up to five years and used exclusively to reduce the property tax millage rate.
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Dougherty-County-FLOST-Brochure(PDF, 4MB)