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Cities sign settlement with former solicitor ► PAGE 3
ALEXANDER POPP/APPEN MEDIA
Milton Mayor Peyton Jamison, second from right, joined mayors from 10 other cities in College Park Sept. 28 for a public forum on the countywide local option sales tax. The mayors are united in opposing a bid by Fulton County to receive a greater share of the proceeds from the tax which are expected to generate $3 billion over the next 10 years.
Cities unite over sales tax
Fulton County students enroll in Auburn classes ► PAGE 5
Mayors meet to discuss negotiation with county By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Mayors and representatives of 11 Fulton County cities projected a message of unity and strength Sept. 28 at a second town hall meeting to discuss distribution of the countywide local option sales tax. The cities are locking horns with Fulton County over how an estimated $3 billion in sales tax revenue will be distributed over the next 10 years. The cities are fighting a Fulton County bid to keep more than the 5 percent share it has been getting over the past decade.
The cities say the county’s proposal will cost them tens of millions of dollars they need to pay for local services without raising property taxes. Held at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, the meeting was well attended by residents and a diverse panel of city officials from Alpharetta, College Park, East Point, Fairburn, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Milton, Palmetto, Sandy Springs, South Fulton and Union City. City representatives spent nearly two hours answering questions on the proposed distribution negotiations with Fulton County officials, which have be-
come increasingly heated. “What Fulton County has been doing for the last few months, is not working together to help our residents,” Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin said. “The one thing that is common amongst all of us in this room is if you live in Fulton County, and Fulton County gets what they want, we’re all gonna get screwed.” Every 10 years, the county and its cities – now 15 in number – renegotiate how money collected from LOST is distributed. Most often, the pot is generally apportioned based on each city’s popula-
See TAX, Page 6
Opinion: The backstory of a Crabapple church ► PAGE 10-11
SPONSORED Monthly North Atlanta Real Estate Report ► PAGES 13-22