DALTON, Ga.-Whitfield County and Dalton city leaders voted unanimously late Monday to approve a joint resolution asking state lawmakers to pass legislation creating a charter commission to study merging the two governments.
“Funding for governments is going to continue to dwindle-we need to look at how to get ahead of this steamroller of increasing costs,” Dalton Mayor David Pennington said at the City Council meeting.
County commissioners held a specially called meeting Monday evening to approve the joint resolution crafted over the last two weeks.
The resolution will now go to local state legislators, who said last week they do not anticipate any problems in passing the legislation before the end of the 2011 session.
The charter commission, consisting of two city leaders, two county commissioners, one representative each from Tunnel Hill, Cohutta and Varnell, four residents appointed by county commissioners and four appointed by City Council members, will study all facets of city and county government to see if consolidation is advisable.