Voters in Bryan County will decide on the Floating Local Option Sales Tax, known as FLOST, a measure that will affect their property taxes.

FLOST is a sales tax equaling a cent at the checkout counter, according to Bryan County Commission Chairman Carter Infinger. If the measure passes, it could lower the millage rate in Bryan County and its cities by up to 64 percent, leading to lower property taxes for homeowners.

Bryan County’s current millage rate sits at 5.7 mills, and could be lowered to 2.1. Richmond Hill’s rate is at 4.1 mills and can decrease to 1.5; Pembroke has a 10.0 millage rate that can be lowered to 3.6 mills.

Commenting on the upcoming FLOST vote, Infinger says that FLOST is “a true property tax reduction” and says that most of the sales tax burden will fall on folks visiting Bryan County.

“About 65 to 70 percent of those pennies [from FLOST] will be from people passing through our community,” said Infinger.

Infinger says that keeping property taxes low is a priority for the county commission. The Bryan County Board of Commissioners recently rolled back the millage rate for the ninth year in a row.

If passed, FLOST would be in effect for five years. The tax would start being collected in 2026 and show up on residents’ 2027 property tax bills.

Early voting started this week and goes through Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 4.