A battle is brewing in Dawson County over how the proceeds for a recently approved special purpose local options sales tax will be split among local governments.
The Dawsonville City Council on Friday voted to sue the county over the SPLOST vote, which was approved by more than 78 percent of voters on March 21. City leaders said the vote was illegal because there is no approved intergovernmental agreement in place between the two sides.
The city wants the county to give more money from the penny sales tax to the city to fund additional projects.
But the county fired back Friday afternoon. In a lengthy statement, the county accused city leaders of undermining the will of voters.
"Instead of supporting a SPLOST that would help cover those costs, the City has taken a divisive path of extortion," the statement said.
The city then issued a statement later that day, disputing that claim.
"The City attempted to work with the County to try and reach an Intergovernmental Agreement which could save the SPLOST," the statement said. "Contrary to the County’s position that the City
was simply trying to extort money and was being greedy, the City was trying to reach an agreement that would change the legal status of the SPLOST from an act that violated state law, to one that would comply with it."
The $60 million SPLOST will fund dozens of new projects in the city and county over the next six years. The projects include a new 911 center and a public health facility.
Dawson County officials said they offered a compromise to avoid a lawsuit. But the city council rejected it just before voting to file suit. Exact details of the compromise were not immediately disclosed.
Under Georgia law, proceeds from a SPLOST should be divided among the county and any cities based on the percentage of the total population each has. In Dawson County, the county should get 88 percent of the tax, but Dawsonville would get 12 percent. But in previous SPLOSTs, the two governments had agreed on a 85-15 percent split.
During discussions before the March vote was called, Dawsonville officials rejected a plan from the county to continue the same division of funds, instead asking for million of dollars more to pay for projects the city said were needed.
The ballot issue approved in March gives Dawsonville 12 percent of the SPLOST proceeds.
