City-County Grapple with L.O.S.T. This Summer

County Attorney Ken Jarrard laid the groundwork for this summer's local option sales tax (L.O.S.T.) negotiations between Forsyth County and the City of Cumming with a power-point presentation at Thursday's county commission meeting.

The 1 percent tax is designed to help keep property taxes low by requiring a roll back of property taxes by an amount equal to the revenue generated by L.O.S.T.

County officials have until July 1 to initiate the negotiations and an agreement must be reached by the end of the year if collection of the tax is to continue. Jarrard said several factors must be taken into consideration as the talks unfold, including service delivery responsibilities of each jurisdiction and point-of-sales.

Forsyth County currently retains 85 percent of the revenue and the city of Cumming receives 15 percent. The split has generated a great deal of controversy over the years. Some county residents argue the division should be based on the city's percentage of the overall population of the county, a little more than 3 percent.

City officials counter by saying the city has the burden of collecting more than 3 percent of the tax and therefore should receive a larger share than its population would dictate.

Once negotiations begin, the two sides have 60 days to reach an agreement or submit the issue to non-binding arbitration. If arbitration fails to produce an agreement, either side can petition Forsyth County Superior Court seeking a resolution of any issues that remain in dispute. If neither party files such a petition, the L.O.S.T. will lapse.

Also to be negotiated is the service delivery strategy of each jurisdiction. Jarrard said county staff is currently working through its plan internally and in conjunction with city staff. The purpose of that negotiation is to minimize inefficiencies and to avoid double taxing citizens.

Officials must also negotiate raw water usage and finished water usage agreements. Forsyth County purchases most of its water from the City of Cumming, paying between 9 and 10 cents per 1,000 gallons of raw water and $2.43 per 1,000 gallons of finished water.

In other business, the board unanimously approved a modification to the county's alcohol ordinance. In the past, if an applicant for an employee alcohol sales license had been denied a license or had their license suspended within the last five years in another jurisdiction due to an underage sales event, they would be barred from receiving a license in Forsyth County for five years. That time period has now been reduced to three years.