Legal bills adding up in lawsuit

By Matt Aiken & Keith Murden / The Nugget    ------------  The legal bills are beginning to stack up for the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners and the City of Dahlonega as the contentious court battle between the governing bodies continues into the new year.
Last week, The Nugget contacted officials on both sides to get the most up-to-date summary of the financial charges stemming from an ongoing conflict that is being funded by taxpayer’s money on both sides.
On the County side, a reported $40,892 in funds have gone towards the lawsuit so far. That total reflects the last invoice received by the County from the Cumming-based law firm of Jarrard & Davis LLC and reportedly doesn’t include the upcoming bill for December.
On the City side, the total bill so far comes in at a reported $11,012.50, as the council has hired the McDonough-based firm of Smith, Welch, Webb & White to handle their legal argument.
That argument, which has been well documented in The Nugget over the past few months, is the result of a conflict that began in the summer when the County and City met to rework the Local Option Sales Tax split.
LOST is a one-cent-on-the-dollar tax that is levied at the county level and shared with the City at a pre-determined rate. That rate is ideally agreed upon every decade.
It was at an August 1 meeting that County Chairman Chris Dockery brought the City a signed certificate which proposed keeping the current split of 25 percent for the City and 75 percent for the County while also reportedly emphasizing that the agreement was good only for that day.
In response, city council members unanimously voted to go to mediation over the matter. County officials have argued that this move essentially constituted a rejection of the deal, which meant the offer was off the table.  

LOST MATTERS

An October 3 mediation date was set but the meeting was postponed due to a death in the family of a city staff member.
On that day, the council members held their own meeting without the county commissioners and agreed to accept the initial offer. The majority of the meeting was handled behind closed doors as an executive session.
After that meeting Taylor sent an email to Dockery informing him that they voted to accept the deal. Dockery replied within minutes telling Taylor that the deal had likely expired. Two days later, city officials filed the paperwork with the Georgia Department of Revenue anyway.
Dockery defined it as a breach of trust.
“We’re not in agreement with that split,” he told The Nugget after learning of the City's actions. “My board is adamant that we’re not in agreement with that split.”
This resulted in a double pronged lawsuit, filed in November, in which Mayor JoAnne Taylor and all the members of the Dahlonega City Council were personally named. In the suit, county officials have alleged that the City was “in violation of Georgia law” when they filed the paperwork.
Meanwhile, the City has maintained that their move to mediation didn’t mean they were rejecting the offer, just taking more time to make a decision.
This argument was more or less affirmed in court by Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr. of the Fulton County Superior Court at a hearing in November.
“A request for more time or information does not constitute rejection of a counteroffer,” he stated in his ruling.
Cox also sited a “lack of evidence” in the County’s accusations when it comes to proving wrongdoing by the City.
“The county must show there has been…an obvious, unequivocal and certain abuse of power. Mere inferences will not suffice,” stated the order.

ADDRESSING THE ELEPHANT

A recently released transcript of the hearing documents a colorful conversation between Cox and attorneys as he tried to ascertain exactly what the county wanted from the lawsuit.
He described that question as the “proverbial elephant over there in the corner.” And he said he’d prefer not to ignore it.
“So rather than allow him to sit in the corner in invisible anonymity, I’d rather we talk about it,” he said. “So that’s important here. What does the County want? And I looked at my notes a couple times, and I never saw the answer to that. So let’s give that elephant flesh and visibility. Let’s talk about him.”
When talking with The Nugget, Dockery has said that what the County really wants is for the City to return to the negotiation table.
“We will continue to fight for that tax equity for all citizens of Lumpkin County. Having said that, the City of Dahlonega unanimously voted to go to mediation,” he said. “We still offer that opportunity to mediate, if they are willing to do so.”
Last month, the Board of Commissioners met in executive session and unanimously agreed to appeal the court’s decision.
 “That appeal is certainly not based on the ego, or the desire to win, of this Board,” said Dockery. “It’s based on our commitment as elected officials that represent our constituents of Lumpkin County to ensure that there’s tax equity as it relates to the LOST distribution.”
Meanwhile Taylor said that the County should bring an end to the suit.
“I definitely think the County should move on from their continuing litigation.  The Judge ruled against the County in both cases,” she said.  “The rulings in favor of the City and the Department of Revenue have validated the tax. The Department of Revenue has begun collection. But, amazingly, Lumpkin County has appealed those decisions. The Judge’s decisions should have resolved the matter and preserved the property tax rollbacks for everyone in Lumpkin County.”
Taylor said that the County’s suit could cost taxpayers in other ways too.
“If the County is somehow successful in their appeals, the LOST property tax rollbacks everyone enjoys will be gone,” she said. “Why are the Commissioners spending our tax dollars on a lawsuit that, if successful, will result in higher property taxes for all?  When tourists, students and other nonresidents spend their money here, those sales tax dollars help reduce property taxes. The County’s appeal is not good conservative policy and is bad for both taxpayers and businesses.”
However, Dockery has said that the County is not arguing for the end of the LOST tax. Instead commissioners just want a new deal that is agreed upon by both sides.
“You can update your LOST Distribution Certificate at any time during that ten-year period,” he said. “For example, if that distribution took effect January 1st as it exists today, then we could update that certificate at any time if both parties agreed.”
The Nugget will continue to request and publish legal bill totals as they accumulate.