HIRING A paid mediator to help Chatham County and its eight municipalities agree on how to split up $600 million in future sales tax fund turned out to be a big waste of time and money.
That’s not exactly a shock.
It seemed clear from the start of this process, which began in the summer, that Chatham County Commission Chairman Pete Liakakis and county officials had every intention of making a Superior Court judge pick a winner and loser.
This is a high-risk strategy on the county’s part — especially if the county doesn’t modify its original, go-for-broke demand and the judge who hears this case is a stickler for state law.
The clock ran out Friday on local officials who had the opportunity to come up with their own agreement on how to distribute Local Option Sales Tax revenue for the next 10 years. That included separate, 60-day periods for negotiation and mediation, which a former chief justice for the Supreme Court of Georgia, Norman Fletcher, helped conduct.
Local taxpayers paid Mr. Fletcher for his expertise. They didn’t get their money’s worth, as officials failed to strike a deal by the end of last week.
It’s unclear what transpired during mediation, which is disappointing. The public was shut out, a decision that makes no sense since this is the public’s money that officials are splitting up. Citizens have a right to know what their elected and appointed officials are proposing.
Both the county and the municipalities now have 30 days to each make proposals to a Superior Court judge. The judge must pick one plan or the other and can’t split the difference or approve an alternative proposal.
Up until now, both sides have been far apart. Under the county’s plan, Chatham’s share of future LOST revenue would skyrocket 211 percent, while the cities would lose 24 percent to 77 percent. The proposal submitted by the municipalities would cut the county’s portion by about 38 percent.
County officials dug in their heels early on their plan and refused to budge. City officials, meanwhile, seemed willing to bend. But the county wouldn’t seriously hear them out.
Mr. Liakakis said that the county may submit an amended plan to the judge, based on discussions they had during mediation. He suggested it could be “positive for the county and positive for the city.”
If that’s true, then it appears to be a smart play legally. That’s because if the judge sticks to the letter of the law in dividing up the money pie, it appears the municipalities may wind up with the biggest pieces.
Meanwhile, Savannah City Attorney Brooks Stillwell said the city had sent a proposal to the county and was awaiting a response. But he declined comment, citing a mutual agreement with the county to keep everything confidential.
Again, it’s disappointing that local officials don’t trust local taxpayers and want to keep these numbers under wraps. This is no time for secrets. All citizens in the county’s unincorporated area, as well as city residents in Savannah, Pooler, Garden City, Port Wentworth, Tybee Island, Thunderbolt, Bloomingdale and Vernonburg should know what is being suggested in their behalf.
The outcome of this process will determine the amount of property tax relief that local governments provide. That’s something that should be shouted from rooftops, not kept hush-hush.