The Savannah Morning News has launched a biweekly series titled the Municipal Notebook, a quick take on events and council decisions in the municipalities surrounding Savannah. The goal is to provide space for updates that may not make it into a traditional story but are still important for residents in Garden City, Tybee Island, Pooler, Port Wentworth and Thunderbolt to know.
Tybee Island discusses potential legislative agenda
At a specially called city council meeting on Nov. 6, Tybee Island discussed the potential 2025 State Legislative Agenda. City Manager Brett Bell said the items presented were only ideas to begin discussions on areas the council would like to pursue. The actual agenda will be discussed and adopted at a meeting in December.
The first idea presented was a municipal option sales tax (MOST), which only four municipalities in the state — Atlanta, College Park, East Point and Hapeville—have access to. MOST funds water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects. Expanding the MOST law to apply to Tybee Island would allow municipal voters to use a 1% sales tax to pay for water, sewer and stormwater improvements as opposed to rate increases and general fund subsidies.