CUMMING, Ga – District 4 county commission candidate Patrick Bell has called on Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt and Forsyth County Commission Chairman Charles Laughinghouse to meet and discuss the differences on the SPLOST VI issue. On Wednesday, retired Superior Court Judge Harold Stone ruled in favor of the City of Cumming, thus nullifying the SPLOST VI referendum that was passed in February.

Dist. 4 Commissioner David Richard has threatened to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court but Bell has urged cooler heads to prevail.

"This has already cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and an appeal will cost tens of thousands more," Bell pointed out. "More importantly, one billion dollars in tax revenue has been placed at risk by what Judge Stone called "stubbornness. The divisiveness needs to end now, for the good of our citizens."

In a question and answer session after Thursday night's Board of Commissioners meeting, Bell suggested a meeting of the minds, so to speak. Bell said at the time that a meeting of the heads of the two governments is called for and could be the very best solution.

“Let’s have the two of them have an open discussions, in full view of the public, and I bet it could be solved in a very short period of time.” Bell said...“Come together with minds and hearts set on finding a mutually beneficial solution. Leave the nastiness, pettiness, threats and spite at home. Much more can be accomplished that way.”

As a business owner Bell said he certainly understands there are many more components involved, however, this would be a great new start and that a renewed foundation could be built this way.

In order to meet requirements, this must be solved within a few days in order to have it placed on the July 15th ballot. Bell stated, “It is critical that our leaders act with urgency with a firm desire to move forward and find a solution. Too much is a stake.”