With many of the 159 Georgia counties still in negotiation with their cities, Bryan County announced Wednesday it has successfully negotiated an agreement of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) proceeds with the cities of Richmond Hill and Pembroke, The new LOST split is 55.5% to Bryan County, 36.5% to Richmond Hill and 8% to Pembroke, according to the press release.

This distribution was agreed upon among each of the governments, the county said.

LOST is comprised of a 1% sales tax paid on goods and services throughout Georgia and helps to reduce the tax burden on property owners.

The Bryan County portion of these funds pay, in part, for the over 30 countywide services such as recreation, courts, emergency medical services (EMS), the Sheriff ’s Office, and more that each Bryan County resident receives.

LOST distributions must be renegotiated every 10 years. The percentages are based on several criteria that are weighed differently by counties and cities. In order to receive the funds a signed agreement must be delivered to the state by the end of the year.

In the release, Chairman Carter Infinger said: “I am happy that we have worked together to get this agreement completed. Many counties and cities who cannot agree must go through several tough steps to reach an agreement. This just shows that we are all working together to make Bryan County a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”