Whitfield County Commission Chairman Mike BabbDALTON, Ga. – A merger of city and county governments would solve many of the problems facing Dalton and Whitfield County, leaders told the charter commission on Wednesday afternoon.
County Commission Chairman Mike Babb and Dalton Mayor David Pennington spoke about how consolidation would affect residents.
The commission’s consolidation study could lead to a voter referendum in November 2012.
“It is time for us to get ahead of the curve, and we can do this much better as a unified government than we can do it separately,” Pennington said. “If you look around our county, we are not a rural county anymore.”
Whitfield County faces a budget shortfall of nearly $4 million for next year and expects to raise property taxes to plug the gap. Dalton is on much firmer financial footing, cutting property taxes and increasing its reserve fund in the last few years.