Sales tax skirmish continues
♦ No deal yet on how to divide local revenue for the next 10 years.
Discussions continued Monday over the distribution of sales taxes among the governments of Rome, Floyd County and Cave Spring.
These discussions have been ongoing for several months, and been a bit contentious, with both Rome and Floyd County advocating for a larger piece of the revenue pie. However, a deadline is quickly approaching, and if no deal is reached the sales tax funds will stay with the state.
The primary push for more revenue has, up to this point, come from the city side of the lines.
During the ongoing negotiations, Rome officials have stated they are the main economic driver of the county, and deserve more than their currently allocated share — 41.7% of the sales tax revenue split. Rome has proposed to increase their share of revenue to 49%, which would reduce the county’s funding to 49.1% from its current level of 56.5%.
County officials note that they are required to provide services to more people spread over a far larger area than Rome and cannot effectively operate with less revenue, barring significant cuts to those services.
For the most part the negotiations have remained amicable, however, “It seems Rome wants to lower their taxes and increase taxes in the county,” said County Manager Jamie Mccord.
County officials suggested a potential solution might be to adjust some of the 32 service delivery agreements between the city and county, for things like public works, parks and recreation as well as policing.
During the discussion, City Commissioner Mark Cochran indicated there are areas where Rome feels like they are not getting their money’s worth.
Cochran said the number of service
agreements is a bit of a Gordian knot, difficult to unravel and an enormous undertaking. The concern is that if the city wants to renegotiate portions of one agreement to their satisfaction, that process can trigger negotiations for other agreements.
Rome believes this LOST negotiation is the simplest way to receive what they feel is an equitable share of revenue.
Regardless of these discussions, the deadline for an agreement is next Friday, August 26. And while neither side wants move toward state-mandated arbitration, that possibility could also extend the deadline — giving both sides more time to reach an agreement.