Wednesday, December 19, 2001
|
Wednesday, December 19, 2001 |
|
Judge shuts the doors on tax talks By DAVE HAMRICK
Judge Stephen Boswell has ordered that mediation of Fayette County's tax equity dispute be conducted in private, and that the parties not talk about the discussions. "In order to provide an environment conducive to resolution, mediations are conducted in private and information provided is confidential as between the parties and the mediator," said Boswell in his mediation order. Meanwhile, the newest party to the discussions, Peachtree City Mayor-elect Steve Brown, said he is optimistic following the first mediation session Monday morning. The governments of Fayette and its three largest cities opened negotiations Monday with court-appointed mediator Timothy Keim in hopes of resolving the long-standing, often heated dispute. Talks continue this Friday. Officials in Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Tyrone say their residents are taxed for more services than they receive from the county about $2 million a year and last January they took that contention to court, asking a visiting judge to appoint a mediator and order the county to the table. City leaders insist that the inequity must be addressed because of a state law that prohibits taxing residents of a city for services primarily received by residents of the unincorporated county. County leaders say there's no tax inequity, and broke off discussions with city officials on the matter last year. County attorneys challenged the cities' request for mandatory mediation, but lost that case in November. The parties now have 60 days to reach agreement, or the dispute will probably go back to court. "I'm hoping something very positive can come out of this," Brown said following Monday's session. "I'm going to see how open all the parties are and take it from there, but I'm optimistic. I think we can get through this." Monday's session focused mainly on the ground rules for future discussion, said Brown. "There have been no big discussions so far," he said. One of the key participants in previous discussions in the three-year dispute has been Brown's predecessor, Mayor Bob Lenox, who has exchanged a series of argumentative letters with county officials. Though Brown doesn't take office until the first council meeting in January, he and Councilman-elect Murray Weed have been included in the mediation sessions. "I've done some homework on it," he said, adding he is ready to participate.
|
||