Taxes
SPLOST
Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
A penny voters approve for building projects: roads, trucks, buildings, equipment.
Bottom line: Ashburn gets 40% of SPLOST, about $2.6 million over six years, and it can only go to building projects. The city hasn't posted the yearly report the law requires.
Who paysAnyone who shops in Turner County
Who gets itCounty 45%, Ashburn 40%, Sycamore 8%, Rebecca 5%, library 2%
Ashburn, 2024–2030about $2.6M
Last year (estimate)about $486,000
How the money moves
- Voters approve the tax and the kinds of projects
- The state pays all of it to the county
- The county passes Ashburn's 40% to the city under a written agreement
- The city keeps it in a separate SPLOST account for approved projects
Who gets each dollar
Turner County45%City of Ashburn40%Sycamore8%Rebecca5%Library2%
Ashburn's share, round by round
What it bought, through June 2020 (last audit)
It can pay for
- Streets, sidewalks and bridges
- City buildings and parks
- Water and sewer lines
- Police and fire vehicles and equipment
It can't pay for
- Salaries
- Utility bills or other day-to-day costs
- Anything that wasn't on the ballot
What the records show
- October 2024: two street department mowers, $29,800
- June 2025: a tractor for the utility and sanitation crews, quoted $39,000 to $46,000
- July 2026: lease of two fire trucks, $11,000 to $12,000 a month
- Payment check: in 2019 the county's reported payment to Ashburn matched 37% of state payments almost to the dollar. 2020 was about $16,900 short, possibly timing.
What we can't see yet
- State law requires the city to publish a SPLOST report every year by December 31, in the newspaper and on its website. We found none.
- The county's posted SPLOST reports stop after 2020.
- The 2018–2024 round collected about $6.27 million, more than the $5.4 million estimate. Whether Ashburn shares in the extra depends on the agreement.
- The specific project list in the 2024 agreement isn't posted.
Anyone can ask City Hall for these records. Here's how.
In the Ashburn Comeback Plan:7.3Get the Audits Caught Up, and Keep Them on Time7.6Where the City's Money Goes, in Plain English
Ask about this
Compiled from public records as of October 22, 2026. Sales tax figures are unaudited state payment records; audits are the official word on what the city spent. For anything official, call City Hall at (229) 567-3431.