Sales tax dealings set to begin
The negotiation period is officially open and some plans for the distribution of Local Option Sales Tax dollars are on the table.
Both plans have a 10-year sliding scale for the sales tax distribution - taking percentage points from Harlem and Grovetown and adding them to Columbia County's share.
At issue is how much is taken from the cities. Under a plan pushed by the chairman of the county commission and the Harlem City Council, the cities' share diminishes 0.3 percent annually. Under the county's plan, the cut is 0.4 percent each year.
During the next 10 years, the 0.1percent amounts to a little more than $2 million - money either split by the cities or funnelled into county coffers, depending on the plan.
Officials have until May to work out a plan. If, by the end of year and with help from outside parties, no agreement exists, the county and cities could lose the sales tax dollars.
"There's too much at stake here not to resolve this," commission chairman Barry Fleming said.
Some county leaders said they thought an agreement could be reached on Harlem's proposal - which has also been pushed by Fleming behind the scenes.
But the sticking point may be Grovetown - where officials want a plan that drops Grovetown's share from 10.7 percent to about 9 percent over five years, then stabilizes for the remaining five years.
"I don't think we need to come to an agreement on the very first day in the very first hour," Grovetown Mayor Dennis Trudeau said. "We've got 60 days to renegotiate. We'll take the time we need."
Still, city leaders are willing to compromise.
"We're here to strike an agreement that's fair to all involved," Harlem City Councilman Craig Brooks said. "Just remember that."
HARLEM'S PROPOSAL
Year Harlem Percent Grovetown Percent County percent
2003 $648,696 5.70 $1,183,586 10.40 $9,548,353 83.90
2004 $663,719 5.40 $1,241,400 10.10 $10,385,968 84.50
2005 $676,993 5.10 $1,300,889 9.80 $11,296,491 85.10
2006 $688,143 4.80 $1,361,951 9.50 $12,286,228 85.70
2007 $696,745 4.50 $1,424,457 9.20 $13,362,026 86.30
2008 $702,319 4.20 $1,488,248 8.90 $14,531,319 86.90
2009 $704,326 3.90 $1,553,129 8.60 $15,802,183 87.50
2010 $702,159 3.60 $1,618,866 8.30 $17,183,384 88.10
2011 $695,137 3.30 $1,685,181 8.00 $18,684,443 88.70
2012 $682,498 3.00 $1,774,495 7.80 $20,292,948 89.20
TOTAL $6,860,736 4.35* $14,632,201 8.88* $143,373,343 86.96*
COLUMBIA COUNTY'S PROPOSAL
Year Harlem Percent Grovetown Percent County percent
2003 $637,316 5.60 $1,172,205 10.30 $9,571,114 84.10
2004 $639,136 5.20 $1,216,817 9.90 $10,435,132 84.90
2005 $637,170 4.80 $1,261,065 9.50 $11,376,137 85.70
2006 $630,798 4.40 $1,304,605 9.10 $12,400,919 86.50
2007 $619,329 4.00 $1,347,041 8.70 $13,516,858 87.30
2008 $601,988 3.60 $1,387,917 8.30 $14,731,982 88.10
2009 $577,908 3.20 $1,426,711 7.90 $16,055,018 88.90
2010 $546,123 2.80 $1,462,831 7.50 $17,495,454 89.70
2011 $505,554 2.40 $1,495,598 7.10 $19,063,609 90.50
2012 $454,999 2.00 $1,546,996 6.80 $20,747,947 91.20
TOTAL $5,850,322 3.80* $13,621,787 8.26* $145,394,171 88.19*
* -- 10-year average of percentage
* -- All projection based on 8 percent annual growth