An agreement has been forged on the distribution of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) in Polk and its municipalities of Aragon, Cedartown and Rockmart.

The process, which began in April, went to a mediation phase after no decision could be negotiated during a series of local meetings. Representatives from each entity appeared before Judge William A. (Bill) Foster at the Paulding County Courthouse.

Attending the mediation were Chairman Cleve Hartley, Marshelle Thaxton, Matt Denton and Clinton Lester, Polk County; Chairman Dale Tuck, Scott Tillery and Larry Odom, and Bill Fann, City of Cedartown; Mayor Steve Miller, Jeff Ellis and Stacey Smith, City of Rockmart and Mayor Ken Suffridge, Aragon.

Officials said the following distribution would be final once it is approved by each entity.

It will be effective after Dec. 30.

The new distribution formula is:

Polk County – 53 percent

Cedartown – 29 percent

Rockmart – 15 percent

Aragon – 2.77 percent

“I feel we made a decision that each entity can be happy with,” said Hartley. “Due to the economy, everyone wanted the most they could get since each penny counts when crunching budget numbers. I believe this will be fair to all our citizens.”