An attorney for The Citizen

argues that the mediation of the tax equity dispute between Fayette County

and its three largest cities' governing bodies should not have been conducted

in secret.

In a response to a motion to

dismiss The Citizen's lawsuit against the governments and visiting Superior

Court Judge Stephen Boswell, attorney Don Johnson alleged that the negotiations

were "not real mediation."

Boswell claims the case should

be dismissed since the court is specifically excluded from complying with

Georgia open meetings law.

But Johnson argues that the

law applies to the county and cities whom Boswell ordered to conduct the

mediations in closed meetings.

"The act under which the

local governments are going forward does not at any location say that

the meetings shall be secret," Johnson wrote, referring to the service

delivery strategy act that allowed the cities to file litigation against

the county for the unsettled dispute.

Boswell, who was appointed

to the tax equity case after all four local Superior Court judges recused

themselves, is being represented by the Georgia Attorney General's office.

The Citizen filed the suit

after learning that Boswell issued a gag order on all parties involved

in the mediation, which prevented the public from learning how the talks

went.

The Citizen obtained a temporary

injunction from Senior Superior Court Judge John S. Langford which halted

the closed meetings in connection with the tax equity mediation.

"In order to provide an

environment conducive to resolution, mediations are conducted in private

and information provided is confidential as between the parties and the

mediator," Boswell said in his mediation order.

The mediation between the county

and cities was the result of a suit filed by the City of Peachtree City,

the City of Fayetteville and the Town of Tyrone, who allege their residents

pay $2 million more in taxes than they receive in services from the county.

County leaders say the opposite is true, with residents of the unincorporated

area subsidizing services for city residents.

The City of Fayetteville recently

withdrew from the mediation and dismissed its interest in the tax equity

suit.

The other parties told Judge

Langford that the talks were concluded without a consensus being reached.

A report on the outcome, required by the mediation law, has not been issued.

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