No agreement was reached on a new Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) between leaders of Dalton and Whitfield County after a mediated negotiation Thursday. The session at Dalton State College was mediated by former Georgia Supreme Court chief justice Norman Fletcher and lasted nearly eight hours.
Thursday’s negotiation was called to order as a joint meeting between the city of Dalton’s Mayor Council and the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, with leaders from the cities of Varnell, Tunnel Hill, and the town of Cohutta also in attendance.
After opening presentations by lawyers representing the city of Dalton and Whitfield County, the meeting then went into a closed executive session for the mediated negotiation.
Under the terms of the mediation, specifics of the negotiations cannot be disclosed publicly. The city of Dalton made a number of proposals to resolve the dispute and reach a new SDS, but they were rejected by Whitfield County’s leaders.
Under Georgia law, cities and counties must negotiate a new SDS every ten years to determine which services each entity will provide to residents and how they will be funded. An extension of the current SDS between Whitfield County and the municipalities therein is set to expire on Oct. 31.
Dalton Mayor Dennis Mock said, “while we still hope that we can reach an agreement before the deadline, as of tonight there are no future meetings scheduled.”
When asked if the city of Dalton would consider signing another extension to allow more time for negotiations, Mayor Mock said, “Deadlines have a way of helping to get things done, and if you extend the deadline you’re just moving the negotiation down the line.”