Gordon County receives $89K in miscoded sales tax

Audit finds SPLOST and LOST funds for Gordon County

Gordon County saw a 67-percent increase in Special Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, and a 76-percent in LOST in September 2020 from September 2021. While it wasn’t exactly a mass shopping spree in Gordon County, it was the result of a sales tax coded wrong on the state level.

In September 2020-2021, LOST revenues were $867,534.93, $366,402.95 more than the $501,131.98 in September 2019-2020. SPLOST collections were $1,319,671.18, a $530,553.23 more than the same period last year.  That is a total amount of $896,956.

“They can’t share which company it was, but it was a major company,” said James Ledbetter, county administrator. “They had paid $247 million in sales tax that was coded wrong. They found it and gave it to us.”

According to the administrator’s report, Gordon County wasn’t the only county shorted funds as about $247 million dollars was coded as being due to the state and a decision was made to pay all the local governments a lump sum. It was caught during an audit. 

Grady bill reduced

Ledbetter said the county was able to get an inmate’s medical bill cut by almost 96-percent. The county received a $159,000 hospital bill from Grady Memorial Hospital. The bill is from a severe self-inflicted inmate injury at the Gordon County Jail.

The bill dropped to $9,000 from $159,000 after Gordon County officials used the medical expense review service, provided by ACCG, to negotiate the bill.

“We have to provide care for inmates,” he said. “But I almost feel guilty about this.”

Other finance news:

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States has awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Accounting to Gordon County. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of Government Accounting and Financial Reporting. The award demonstrates the commitment of Gordon County Government to clearly communicate its financial picture to the public. Gordon County has received this recognition every year since Al Leonard became Finance Director in the early 2000’s.

GORDON COUNTY BOE ROLLS BACK MILLAGE RATE IN A SPLIT-DECISION

Brookshire park

The Oostanaula community in Gordon County might see some upgrades to the Brookshire Park. The passive park may include a pavilion and picnic tables. The county applied for a grant to help fund the upgrades. No estimate on cost is available as the work has not been bid out.

Employee Recognition

Macey Silvers of E-911 was recognized for seven years service with Gordon County.

Zoning

The  Gordon County Board of Commissioners approved two zoning applications. Clyde and Cindy Burchett’s request to rezone property from A-1 to RA-A was approved and Oasis Detox Spa’s request to rezone from A-1 to O-I Office Institutional was conditionally approved, pending completion of the driveway.

Early voting

Early voting begins October 12 in the elections office on the bottom floor of the Courthouse Annex.