Calling Fayette

County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn a "liar," Tyrone Councilman

Ronnie Cannon said the town isn't getting a fair shake from the county.

But he grudgingly

voted in favor of a new jail agreement that requires the town to pay additional

county fees.

It took a tie-breaking

vote from Mayor Sheryl Lee, but the Town Council approved the jail deal

last week.

Tyrone was

the last holdout on the agreement, which calls for daily fees paid by

the county's three largest cities for prisoners sentenced by the city

courts to the County Jail.

County and

city leaders have been heatedly discussing the jail agreement ever since

county commissioners gave notice at the beginning of 2001 that they would

end a 1994 agreement in which the county provides space for municipal

prisoners at no charge.

City leaders

argue that their residents already pay more than their fair share of taxes

for services they receive from the county. City residents also pay more

than enough to help support the jail, their leaders claim.

Before they

approved the deal, Tyrone council members went into closed session. When

they came out of the meeting, council members unloaded on the inequities

they perceive they are receiving from the county.

"Tyrone

is just getting inferior services," said Cannon.

Cannon also

doubted the sincerity of County Commission Chairman Greg Dunn, who said

in previous Citizen articles that he wants to sit down and discuss issues

with the municipalities.

"It's

like talking to a concrete wall. I think he's a liar," he added.

Cannon said

he will be doing a lot of campaigning this fall to make sure that county

commissioners are elected that have Tyrone's interests at heart.

Councilman

Lisa Richardson, who voted against the jail agreement, said the city needs

to hang tough and carry the matter through litigation.

Another councilman

said Tyrone is contributing far more than its fair share in fire impact

fees.

"We should

only be contributing about 10 percent, since there's one fire station

in town. Our share is over 30 percent," said Councilman Ray Bogenschutz.

When it came

time for the vote, Cannon and Bogenschutz supported the jail agreement,

while Councilman Paul Letourneau and Richardson opposed it.

The mayor cast

the tie-breaking vote, and said it's time for the town to move on to other

issues.

Under the agreement,

Tyrone, Peachtree City and Fayetteville will pay $43.70 per day for each

prisoner housed at the jail, with provisions for a discounted rate of

$30 per day based on the previous year's average daily population of inmates.