Wednesday, December 11, 2002
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Wednesday, December 11, 2002 |
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Fayette, PTC agree on LOST tax split By JOHN MUNFORD
It appears there will be a new LOST for Fayette County after all. At a special called meeting yesterday morning, the Peachtree City Council approved a proposal from Fayette County that will change the distribution of the county's Local Option Sales Tax. Under the new agreement which still must be voted on by the County Commission the county's proportion of sales tax revenues would increase to 50 percent over a three-year period beginning in 2003. Currently the county gets 47.5 percent of the LOST revenues while the remainder is split by Fayette's municipalities based on their respective populations. The new deal locks in that figure for 2003, with an increase in the county's take to 48.5 percent in 2004 and to 50 percent in 2005. The City Council unanimously approved the county's phase-in proposal at its special meeting Tuesday. While Mayor Steve Brown lamented that he had hoped to work out a better deal, "the current set of circumstances don't give us that option." Other council members said they appreciated the county's willingness to work with them in the negotiation process. "I think this is in the best interests of Peachtree City," said councilwoman Annie McMenamin, who commended current interim city manager Colin Halterman and former city manager Jim Basinger for their work on the negotiations. Councilman Dan Tennant thanked fellow councilman Steve Rapson for breaking down the county's proposal in a way that the rest of the council could understand. The other municipalities in Fayette Fayetteville, Tyrone and Brooks are not required to sign off on the LOST deal. After the meeting, Rapson said he hoped the City Council and County Commission could continue working together as they have with the tax inequity lawsuit, the jail impact fee agreement and now the LOST distribution. "To their credit, they have followed through on the promises they made," Rapson said. While the new LOST distribution will reduce Peachtree City's share of LOST revenues, those revenues are projected to continue increasing over the next 10 years. In a memo to council about the county's proposal and the city's two counter proposals on the LOST, city finance director Paul Salvatore noted that while the city's population is expected to remain fairly constant over the next 10 years "while the county's population is expected to grow to at least the 50 percent they would end up with according to their proposed formula." The two counterproposals offered by Brown would have netted the city either an additional $655,000 or $380,000 over the 10-year period of the county's LOST proposal. Fayette County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn was pleased to learn of the agreement. "I think this is going to be a lot fairer for everybody,' he said. Dunn added the phase-in proposal gives the cities tome to adjust figures in upcoming years. He also added that if sales tax revenues increase, all the municipalities will benefit.
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