By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

A committee of officials from Fayette County and its municipalities hopes to choose a consultant next month to determine whether county or city residents are being taxed unfairly.

“We feel like the cities subsidize the county operations to a certain extent, and the county feels like the county residents subsidize the cities,” said Fayetteville Mayor Mike Wheat this week.

Members of FUTURE (Fayette United Team to Use Resources Efficiently) last week heard proposals from two consultants with expertise in tax equity, said Wheat, and plans are to hear from one more consultant at the group's next meeting before choosing from among the three.

When that next meeting will be is still up in the air, said county manager Billy Beckett. “We hope by the end of October, but everybody's got crazy schedules right now,” he said.

FUTURE originally was formed to discuss ways the county and cities could cooperate to bring services to local residents less expensively and more efficiently. Its mission became more urgent last year when the state legislature passed House Bill 489, a new state law requiring that all counties and cities in the state come up with plans to combine services and cooperate where possible.

When elected officials in Tyrone and Peachtree City went public earlier this year with claims that their residents are paying more to Fayette County in taxes than they receive in services, the question was referred to FUTURE for discussion.

The group last month decided to look for a consultant who could provide insight, and county and city leaders vowed to correct any inequities uncovered in a thorough study of the tax structure here.