Hall’s city and county officials will start the closed-door process of dividing local sales tax dollars next week.

Once a decade, local governments in Georgia counties are required to renegotiate the distribution of the local option sales tax. LOST is a penny sales tax that local governments can use to pay for day-to-day operations, lessening their reliance on property taxes.

The first meeting of negotiations in Hall County will be held Monday morning at the Spout Springs Library in Flowery Branch. It is not open to the public.

With a continued decline in property values, every stakeholder has a clear interest in drawing its fair share.

“It’s very important to taxpayers of the county and cities,” said Oakwood City Manager Stan Brown. “From my standpoint, we would not be doing our job if we didn’t make sure we get our fair share.”

This year, Hall County’s municipal governments — which are collectively negotiating through the Joint Municipal Association — are hoping to take a larger helping of total revenue by implementing a new formula for dividing tax dollars.

Phil Sutton, the former assistant Hall County administrator, will be the lead negotiator on behalf of the cities.

Hall County hired the Eaves Consulting Group to help with negotiations.

Currently, the money is divided based on population. That formula has given Hall County a little more than 75 percent of the monthly check from the state’s Department of Revenue.

However, city officials are looking to make each government’s property tax digest a bigger factor in determining its LOST share.

That proposal would increase shares for the cities and decrease Hall County’s share by about 9 percent, according to one estimate offered in January.

Hall County Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Oliver has said the county is comfortable with the current arrangement, but has declined to outline the county’s negotiating strategy.

“We’re optimistic we can work with everybody,” Oliver said Wednesday.

While officials are publicly diplomatic about the process, the negotiations could get volatile behind the scenes.

In its guide to city officials about the LOST process, the Georgia Municipal Association offers this: “In reality, LOST renegotiation isn’t pretty. It’s a zero-sum game — one jurisdiction’s gain corresponds directly to a loss of revenue in another jurisdiction.”

If the parties fail to reach a deal in 60 days, the issue could go to mediation or arbitration.

The first meeting will be the kickoff for negotiations, but the process could take weeks.

“Monday’s meeting will set the parameters for LOST negotiations for the county and the cities,” said Hall County spokeswoman Nikki Young.

In other words, officials will decide who will be involved, how the negotiations will take place and when future meetings will occur.

The nuts and bolts of dividing the money aren’t expected to be discussed at length.