Hall County officials have asked members of the local delegation to fix the state's sales tax collection system.

In a meeting with state legislators who represent the county, Hall County Administrator Charley Nix referred to the current system as a "leaky bucket."

County officials are currently participating in a study with the state Department of Revenue to determine whether the county is receiving the proper amount of sales tax revenue.

The county says it is missing sales tax revenues from about 30 percent of the businesses in Hall County.

According to information the county provided to legislators Thursday, 1,136 businesses that have business licenses in the county are not on the state Department of Revenue's list of active sales taxpayers.

Assistant County Administrator Phil Sutton asked legislators to authorize local governments to collect their own sales taxes, using 1 percent of those collections to pay staff to collect them.

Sutton said legislators could also consider allowing local governments to hire a private agency to audit state sales tax collections.

"We really need some help," Sutton said. "Especially if the state is thinking that more and more emphasis should be put on sales tax."