One look into the crystal ball reveals several top local government stories to watch in 2015, though there are always sure to be surprises when it comes to city and county politics and policy. As local leaders prepare their legislative agendas for the new year, here’s a preview of a few stories sure to grab headlines in 2015. SPLOST VII Getting a vote on a new round of special purpose local option sales tax proved a major headache for county and municipal officials in 2014 after a handful of public input meetings failed to generate the hoped-for response.