Franklin Etheridge
LaFayette, Ga., City Manager Frank Etheridge is upbeat about negotiations on how Walker County’s cities should share some $54 million in estimated sales tax revenue with county government.
LaFayette is taking the lead in how to split local option sales tax revenue with Walker County over the next 10 years.
The 1 percent tax generates $5.4 million annually, or $54 million over a decade. Now, Walker County keeps 80 percent and lets the cities – Chickamauga, LaFayette, Rossville and Lookout Mountain, Ga. – share the remaining 20 percent.
But LaFayette kicked off a 90-day negotiation period on June 28 by proposing to whittle the county’s take to 55 percent while letting the cities keep 45 percent. LaFayette based that proportion on a report by a consultant it hired who used eight criteria to justify the cities’ share.
Etheridge said the cities could have asked for more, based on the consultant’s report.