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DOUGHERTY COUNTY, GA --
Representatives from Dougherty County and the City of Albany have begun negotiations on how to split the revenue from the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST).

Currently the city receives 60 percent of the revenue with the remaining 40 percent going to the county. Both sides presented proposals on how they feel the revenue should be divided. The city saying it could ask for as much as 79 percent and the county is asking for their cut to be boosted up with 52 percent.

If the sides can't agree on numbers within 60 days, the negotiation heads to a non-binding arbitration. If the city and county are still deadlocked, the decision is left up to the Superior court.

The judge will then select one of the side’s proposals to be the new distribution rate. Ideally, an agreement will be reached before it heads to the court, which is something Albany Mayor, Dorothy Hubbard, says they don't want to happen, "We don't really want to go to court. We have a good relationship with the county, we understand that people send us here to work together and work out our differences."

The city and county have until the end of November to reach an agreement before sending it to the superior court. Even while the judge is deciding the city and county have an opportunity to reach an agreement on their own.