Members of

the Association of Fayette County Governments, a loose-knit group that

includes elected officials from Fayette County, its cities and the Board

of Education, were singing in harmony last week as they met for the first

time in months.

Comments at

the meeting were in sharp contrast to the discord that has punctuated

joint meetings of local in recent months.

Tax equity,

the notion that residents of Fayette's cities are paying for more services

than they're receiving from the county government, has sparked fiery debate

at meetings of FUTURE, a now-disbanded group that worked for more than

two years to find ways to cooperate and save taxpayers' money. Letters

between various officials arguing their cases have fanned the flames.

But last week,

officials seemed eager to point out that they get along even though they

disagree.

Peachtree City

Councilman Dan Tennant started the ball rolling by calling on officials

to end the hostilities. "Let's all come together as elected officials

to look after the best interests of all of our constituents in the county,"

he said.

Annie McMenamin,

also a Peachtree City Council member, pointed out that in spite of the

disagreement, the FUTURE group managed to hammer out several cooperative

agreements. "Our differences are our differences, but we move past

those differences ... we don't let our differences stand in the way of

what we're here for."

School board

member Janet Smola and recently appointed interim Peachtree City Councilman

Steve Rapson both pointed out that most of the key players in the disagreements

had shown up at the AFCG meeting to continue working together, a positive

sign, they said.

And Brooks

Councilwoman Caroline Smith said the officials will continue to work for

common goals. "We're all here for one reason," she said.

Meanwhile,

city mayors this week continue to discuss the possibility of filing a

request for mandatory mediation in the dispute over tax equity.

Peachtree City

Mayor Bob Lenox said last week he hoped to have the petition filed by

Friday, but as of Tuesday, mayors were still discussing it, he said.

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