By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@thecitizennews.com

Is the disagreement between Fayette County and local cities over tax equity heating up into a full-blown rift?

That depends upon who is telling the story, but it's clear the controversy is heating up.

“I'm probably the most impatient person that's dealing with this,” admitted Tyrone Town Councilman Ronnie Cannon. “I want it resolved now.”

But Peachtree City Mayor Bob Lenox also has stepped up the rhetoric.

“We decided to have a study done by an independent consultant and abide by his results. Now that we have the results, the county wants to ignore them, and I don't think that's right,” Lenox told The Citizen following a recent City Council meeting.

Lenox said he plans to meet with the two other cities this week to develop a plan for approaching the county about the issue.

“If we agree on some things, we'll forward it to the county. And I expect the county to respond promptly,” he said.

But Fayetteville officials seemed comfortable with the progress that's being made on the issue.

“We certainly think there's an issue there,” said City Manager Joe Morton. “That's evident by the consultant's work.” But Morton said the city is open to discussion on the accuracy of the consultant's figures.

“We're progressing,” said Mayor Kenneth Steele. “I think, from Fayetteville's standpoint, we can reach a mutually agreeable solution in the not-too-distant future.”

County and city governments pooled resources and hired the consultant to study the tax structure and services of the cities and county after Tyrone's Cannon voiced the opinion that the town's residents were being shortchanged in county-wide services, and officials in Peachtree City and Fayetteville later joined in the refrain.

In times past, the city officials' opinions might never have stirred any action at all, but counties and cities are now under state mandate — with a Dec. 31 deadline — to work out cooperative agreements on numerous aspects of government services in order to improve efficiency and eliminate double taxation.

After studying the services and tax structures of all the governments involved, consultant Stephen Burnett said city residents are indeed overtaxed, mainly for services from the Sheriff's, Public Works and Recreation departments.

The alleged inequity amounts to about eight tenths of a mill in property taxes, or about $57 in taxes on a $200,000 home.

Burnett offered several suggested ways the county and cities might address the inequities, including placing county facilities more evenly around the county for easier access by city residents, setting up special tax districts so that only residents who use a given service will be taxed for it, and other cooperative agreements.

County and city officials have met to discuss those options several times, but in the most recent meeting, County Commission Chairman Harold Bost brought out new data and asked the officials to consider the new information as they negotiate.

Burnett's study did not include several categories of fees collected by the county and turned over to the cities even though the county provides all the services involved, Bost said.

He submitted figures that he said show that city residents receive more than their fair share of services for franchise taxes, beverage taxes, the insurance premium tax, permit and inspection fees, business licenses, zoning fees, emergency medical services and the county property transfer tax.

“These are clean, clear-cut credits that should go to the county residents” in deciding tax equity, Bost said.

“If he wanted those things included in the discussion, he could have brought them up when the consultant started his study,” said Cannon. “There was an opportunity, and he could have brought them up.”

During his three years as a Tyrone councilman, Cannon said, “we've had one road resurfaced, and then we had to hire a contractor to finish the job. We've got some frustrations,” he said.

Bost said the cities and county agreed to limit Burnett's study because they couldn't afford a more exhaustive study, but added he believes all factors should be included.

“All I'm looking for is equity,” Bost said, “but I want it equitable for 100 percent of the people. I'm responsible to 100 percent of the county residents, and what I'm trying to do is be sure as we move forward that we look at everything and not just part of it in a vacuum.”

During the last group meeting, Bost asked Peachtree City Mayor Lenox to update figures he presented two years ago suggesting that his city's residents were being shortchanged. Lenox's figures could provide additional information for the negotiations, Bost said.

Cannon said the information requests amount to nothing more than stalling tactics. “We could keep going and we're right back to where we were before we had the study done. We're in the same place we were two years ago,” said Cannon.

“We're not trying to drag our feet,” insisted Bost. “I certainly don't have all the answers and I'm not going to accept somebody else's answer until I feel comfortable with it.”