The city of Carrollton took a big step Monday toward becoming a regional hub for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, agreeing to help fund a downtown headquarters for as many as 30 narcotics agents, as well as members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, that would be the base for a drug-fighting pilot program in as many as 22 counties in Georgia.

“I think it’s a huge thing for Carrollton,” said Carrollton Chief of Police Joel Richards. “They target large drug dealers; they don’t hit street-level stuff. They go after the big guys higher up on the line.”

City Manager Casey Coleman said he had been approached by Richards, Sheriff Terry Langley and members of the West Georgia Task Force last month for help locating a new headquarters. Their current location, which for security reasons is not made public, is in Carroll County.

The task force currently has eight agents, which would be supplemented by the 20-30 narcotics agents from another task force located in metro-Atlanta.

The city did not have any property that fit those agents’ needs, but found the owners of the old Martin-Hightower funeral home in downtown Carrollton were willing to sell their property for $495,000. The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to fund $200,000 of that, with the expectation that the county would match.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Mayor Wayner Garner, who was echoed by Council members Rusty Gray and Mandy Maierhofer.

Commission Chairman Bill Chappell said he also supports the idea, and would put it before the rest of the county commissioners for a vote as soon as possible. Chappell said he would use money from the 2003 special purpose local option sales tax allotted for economic development to pay for the headquarters.

“It’s a good number of important jobs, and is something I will recommend to the Board of Commissioners if it comes to me,” Chappell said. “It would be a great plus for the area.”

The pilot program is still a proposal. Richards said all interested parties will now go back to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and show they have room for new agents. Richards said the West Georgia Task Force’s existing facilities were already a little too small.

Sheriff Terry Langley is chairman of the Control Board for the task force.

“The thing I like about it is not only will it help more drug investigations and provide more resources for Carroll County, but secondly, it also gives us an arm to reach into the metro-Atlanta area,” Langley said. “A lot of drug dealers we run into went to Atlanta to get their drugs. This could allow us to lengthen the arm of our jurisdiction.”

Under this plan, the city police and sheriff’s department would contribute $50,000 each from seized drug funds to help pay for the headquarters, with the Villa Rica Police Department, among others, contributing remodeling money from their drug funds.

Richards is also on the task force Control Board by virtue of his position, and credited Langley and others for their help with the proposal.

“I’m just excited,” Richards said. “It’s not a done deal, but it would be huge for Carroll County to have that many drug agents right here. ... When you do something like this, you tend to clean up your own backyard first.”