Wednesday, April 3, 2002
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Wednesday, April 3, 2002 |
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Tax talks should have been open, Citizen argues By JOHN MUNFORD
An attorney for The Citizen argues that the mediation of the tax equity dispute between Fayette County and its three largest cities' governing bodies should not have been conducted in secret. In a response to a motion to dismiss The Citizen's lawsuit against the governments and visiting Superior Court Judge Stephen Boswell, attorney Don Johnson alleged that the negotiations were "not real mediation." Boswell claims the case should be dismissed since the court is specifically excluded from complying with Georgia open meetings law. But Johnson argues that the law applies to the county and cities whom Boswell ordered to conduct the mediations in closed meetings. "The act under which the local governments are going forward does not at any location say that the meetings shall be secret," Johnson wrote, referring to the service delivery strategy act that allowed the cities to file litigation against the county for the unsettled dispute. Boswell, who was appointed to the tax equity case after all four local Superior Court judges recused themselves, is being represented by the Georgia Attorney General's office. The Citizen filed the suit after learning that Boswell issued a gag order on all parties involved in the mediation, which prevented the public from learning how the talks went. The Citizen obtained a temporary injunction from Senior Superior Court Judge John S. Langford which halted the closed meetings in connection with the tax equity mediation. "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," Boswell said in his mediation order. The mediation between the county and cities was the result of a suit filed by the City of Peachtree City, the City of Fayetteville and the Town of Tyrone, who allege their residents pay $2 million more in taxes than they receive in services from the county. County leaders say the opposite is true, with residents of the unincorporated area subsidizing services for city residents. The City of Fayetteville recently withdrew from the mediation and dismissed its interest in the tax equity suit. The other parties told Judge Langford that the talks were concluded without a consensus being reached. A report on the outcome, required by the mediation law, has not been issued.
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