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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) — A judge says he may need several weeks to render an opinion in a lawsuit by the Washington County Board of Education, which claims it is owed $3.4 million by Johnson City from prior liquor-by-the-drink sales tax revenues.
Attorneys for both Johnson City and Washington County presented arguments before Second Judicial District Chancellor E.G. Moody at a three-hour hearing Tuesday, according to The Johnson City Press (http://bit.ly/1Ld1imm).
Johnson City attorney Erick Herrin argued that according to a state statute, cities without their own school systems must share liquor-by-the-drink tax revenues with counties. Johnson City has a school system.
Herrin cited the Tennessee Constitution, saying municipalities which collect liquor-by-the-drink tax revenues can spend the proceeds only for municipal purposes.
Attorney James Logan, who is representing Washington County, said the state collects all taxes and keeps half. The other half is sent back to local political subdivisions. That portion can be split again, with half the amount going to local schools.
"There's a lot at stake here -- the quality of education," Logan said. "There are more Washington County students going to Washington County schools than there are Johnson City students going to Johnson City schools. The students have been deprived of equal funding."
Herrin told Moody and Logan he was prepared to dig out attorney general opinions, case law and statute timelines. Toward the end of the hearing, Herrin introduced pages and pages of statutes and amendments dating back to 1967.
Logan asked the judge to give him five days to review the materials produced by Herrin.
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Information from: Johnson City Press, http://www.johnsoncitypress.com
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