Varnell Mayor Dan PeeplesDALTON, Ga. — In an unexpected move Monday evening, county commissioners tabled a resolution that would have placed a 1 percent sales tax increase on the ballot in November.
Commissioners voted without discussing the reason but said after the meeting they want to explore coordinating with school board members to avoid overlapping two 1 percent sales taxes.
The change came after a meeting Monday afternoon with the Whitfield and Dalton school board members and some Dalton officials. Commissioners discussed how they could work together to coordinate the two taxes.
“I woke up this morning fully expecting we would vote to pass it tonight,” said Commissioner Robby Staten, who made the motion to table the vote. “But then I was called to an unexpected meeting. I think it is very valid for us to at least consider it.”
School board members already have passed a resolution asking for a 1 percent sales tax referendum to be placed on the November ballot. If approved, the sales tax would be in place for five years.
County commissioners had planned to pass a resolution to ask for a two-year tax.
Both tax proposals have met with serious opposition from local tea party members and Dalton Mayor David Pennington. Residents have said they plan an organized campaign in an attempt to defeat the taxes.
Members of the school boards told commissioners on Monday that they would consider waiting one year to place their tax on the referendum, according to County Manager Mark Gibson, who attended Monday’s meeting. That way only one tax would be on the November ballot.
“We are trying to collaborate in such a way as to lessen the burden on Whitfield County citizens,” Gibson said.
County Chairman Mike Babb said he supports exploring the idea but said if they do not want to overlap the taxes at all, county commissioners could ask for only a one-year tax increase.
One year may not raise enough money to do any significant capital projects, Babb said. Additionally, he said he isn’t sure he will agree to a one-year tax if the school boards plan to ask for a five-year tax next November.
“We understand this is a tax, but we’ve already trimmed our list from five years to two years,” Babb said.
Before the motion to table the resolution, Varnell Mayor Dan Peeples urged commissioners to pass the resolution for at least two years. He called officials who oppose the tax “very selfish” but did not name Pennington specifically.
“It is not just about the city of Dalton,” Peeples said. “They have all these things, like fountains and sidewalks, that we have never had. We have got to make Whitfield County better. We need this SPLOST.”
County commissioners plan to meet again Wednesday to consider the vote.
Contact Mariann Martin at 706-980-5824 or mmartin@timesfreepress.com.