---
date: 2013-10-15
title: October 15, 2013 Minutes
source: 2013-10/2013-10-15_October 15, 2013_Minutes.pdf
pages: 1
---

October 15, 2013

EMERGENCY SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF STOCKBRIDGE
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013 5:59 pm
City Council
Administration
Mark Alarcon, Mayor
David A. Milliron, City Manager
Richard Steinberg, Mayor Pro Tem
Rhonda A. Blackmon, City Clerk
Robin Buschman, Councilwoman
Bill Linkous, City Attorney
Harold Cochran, Councilman
Shirley Dabney, Councilwoman
Alphonso Thomas, Councilman

Call to Order by Mayor Alarcon at 6:03 pm

Invocation was provided by Kathryn Gilbert

Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison

Adopt Agenda; Richard Steinberg made a motion; Robin Buschman made the second;
the motion passed 5-0.
An Emergency Special Called Meeting of the City Council of the City of Stockbridge,
Georgia will be held at 6:00PM on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 in the Council Library at
City Hall, 4640 North Henry Blvd., Stockbridge, GA 30281.

FOR THE PURPOSE OF:

1. Henry County L.O.S.T. Certificate of Distribution; Mayor Alarcon opened the
discussion on the Henry County L.O.S.T Certificate of Distribution and turned it
over to David Milliron. David Milliron referred to Mr. Buddy Welch, former City
Attorney of Stockbridge and attorney for Henry County Municipal Association. Mr.
Milliron stated that the cities met today regarding this issue which is a result of a
court ruling and the ratified agreement with the County. Mr. Milliron introduced
Mr. Welch. Mr. Welch stated in 2010 the legislature adopted a procedure to
resolve distribution of Local Option Sales Tax money. Cities and the County have
built their budgets around the money they receive from L.O.S.T. Due to the
economy, the collection of L.O.S.T. has been down. He said when the economy
picks back up the L.O.S.T will too. We have tried to resolve our problem with
proceeds with the County but we were not successful. The County was asking
that cities take a substantial decrease of the funds. Michael Brown was hired by
the cities to evaluate the criteria of the law. The result of the evaluation
concluded that we were entitled to 40% of the funds. Mr. Welch stated we were
only receiving 35% of the funds at this time. A lawsuit was filed in Superior Court
and a judge was appointed to hear the case and make a determination. On the
trial date we made a final offer to the County to take a 1% reduction; reducing the
amount to 34% to be allocated over a number of years. The County agreed and
the certificate would be good for 10 years. The certificate was signed and the
order was processed to settle the case and the certificate was approved. The
certificate was signed on December 20, 2012 and filed prior to December 31,
2012 with the Department of Revenue. There has been ongoing litigation in the
state over the proper division of L.O.S.T. He said the Turner County case
reached the Supreme Court. The court found that the procedure it was operating
under was unconstitutional. We do not know how that will affect the COS
certificate. A recommendation that a new certificate be filed bearing the approval
date and when the certificate was signed has been put forth. Mr. Welch said we
thought everything was fine until the county attorney sent us an email. The email
stated that the County was not willing to sign the certificate based upon the
agreed distribution that occurred last year. The County has asked that the City
accept a distribution of 35% for one year and wait for the legislation. Once the
legislation makes a final decision of the procedures; then cities can enter into
renegotiations as to the distribution of the sales proceeds. Mayors and City
Managers affected by this have met and agreed to stick by the agreement from
last December. We have expressed that to the County. We were notified that the
County would not accept; and a resolution would be accepted to not agree to the
terms proposed. A ramification from this would be that we lose the tax. He said
there is $30 million dollars in income that is coming into the county and cities
from this tax. If the County does not sign the document tomorrow we don’t know
what will happen. Mr. Welch said cities have proposed filing suit against the
County to force the agreement but the decision to do this would have to be
uniform. Robin Buschman asked if the County provided a reason as to why they
are reneging. Mr. Welch stated the Supreme Court said that any agreement as a
result of the procedure is unconstitutional. Mayor Alarcon thanked Mr. Welch for
coming out. He encouraged the citizens of Stockbridge to talk with their county
commissioners about this issue. Mayor Alarcon called for a motion to adopt the
resolution. Richard Steinberg made a motion to adopt the resolution; a second
was made by Harold Cochran; the motion passed 5-0.

MOTION TO ADJOURN; Robin Buschman made a motion to adjourn; the Mayor
adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:23pm.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY:

Rhonda A. Blackmon, City Clerk Mark A. Alarcon, Mayor
