Office of the Mayor Sabannal Georgia ‘Van R. Johnson, 1 Mayor December 5, 2022 Chatham County Board of Commissioners P.O, Box 8161 Savannah, GA 31412 RE: Local Options Sales Tax Mediation Dear Members of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners: ‘The Municipalities of Chatham County look forward to meeting with the County at mediation this week in ‘an attempt to reach a fair agreement concerning the Local Option Sales Tax distribution. The mediation will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 7, at the offices of Oliver Maner LLP, 218 W. State Street. ‘The Municipalities are aware of a vote the County Commission took on December 2, 2022, to support a LOST offer that would decrease the Municipal share from 77% to 69% for all ten years of the agreement. Frankly, the Municipalities cannot accept this offer, as it would lead to significant tax increases and/or service reductions for nearly all Chatham County municipalities. Last week, on behalf of the Municipalities, | offered Chairman Ellis two (2) options that the Municipalities would find acceptable: 1. We offered that the County's share immediately increases to 26% of LOST for all ten years ofthe agreement. This represents a 13% increase in the County's current LOST share and would more than cover the County's anticipated cost increases for services. While this agreement would in turn reduce the Municipality's allocation to 74% of LOST, and force us to make difficult budget decisions, we believe it’s a fair agreement. 2. We also offered to Chairman Ellis an agreement that would see the County's share of LOST increase from 23% to 31% incrementally over 10 years. The Municipalities are aware of a similar proposal from County Commissioners Dean Kicklighter and Aaron Whitely, which we believe may also be supported by other members of the commission. The Municipalities are willing to agree to this proposal, which is as follows: MayorJohnson@savannahga.gov * P.O. Box 1027 * Savannah, Georgia 31402 + (912) 651-6444 * Fax (912) 651-6805Year County's Share Municipal Share 2023 23% 71% 2024 23% 77% 2025 25% 75% 2026 25% 75% 72027 27% 73% 2028 27% 73% 2029 29% 2% 2030 29% 72% 2031 31% 69% 2032 31% 69% ‘The Municipalities cannot agree to anything other than a gradual increase to 31%. The choice between these options is yours to make. ‘The Municipalities of Chatham County have come to the table in the spirit of compromise for our residents’ greater good. The County's latest proposal would again lead to tax increases for the majority of residents in our community. We must avoid this scenario. We look forward to working with you to reach a ir and positive outcome for all of us. Singerely,