Sales tax distribution discussion continues

Representatives from the Rome, Cave Spring and Floyd County governments will continue discussions Monday about the distribution of sales tax proceeds over the next decade.

The deadline for those discussions to come to a close is rapidly approaching.

Georgia counties and their respective municipalities must renegotiate their sales tax allocation every decade. In a worst case scenario, if no agreement can be reached by Aug. 26, the sales tax funds stay with the state.

Currently, through the agreement signed on Aug. 28, 2012, Floyd County receives 56.5% of the revenue while Rome gets 41.7% and Cave Spring gets 1.8%.

Up to this point the city and the county have failed to come to an agreement. Cave Spring is not disputing its 1.8% share of the revenue.

Rome is essentially arguing that residents are double taxed for certain county services and the city deserves a bigger piece of the pie. Much of the argument stems from the fact that Rome has a higher daytime population and garners the most business activity in Floyd County.

However, county officials argue that they must provide certain mandated services that the city benefits from — like the Superior Court, Probate Court, the Rome-floyd County Library and Richard B. Russell Regional Airport. The Floyd County Police Department also responds to calls for service within city limits when needed.

Negotiations have come closer to reaching an agreement. During a recent meeting the city proposed to split the remaining allocation, minus Cave Spring’s portion, nearly down the middle. However, county officials have disagreed with that idea thus far, stating that the new formula would take away over $1.3 million from their budget — a cut that they can’t absorb.

The committee will meet Monday at 1 p.m. in the Sam King Room at City Hall, 601 Broad St.