VALDOSTA — A Superior Court judge has restored access to state funding for Valdosta and Lowndes County, funding local governments lost in November for their inability to agree on joint services.

The county and its five cities are still entangled in a lawsuit over their Service Delivery Strategy dispute, but Judge Gary C. McCorvey signed an order Friday lifting restrictions on the state funding while the fight plays out in court.

Funding includes grants for street and road maintenance, law-enforcement vehicles and social programs.

Valdosta Mayor John Gayle said the judge’s move is a win for residents.

“The public will no longer face any harm while the local governments move forward with SDS proceedings,” Gayle said in a statement. “I am proud the cities took a position in favor of citizens and requested the sanctions be lifted.”

The SDS dictates how services throughout the city and county are funded. The document’s purpose is to eliminate duplication of services and competition between local governments, and the county and cities have been arguing for more than a year in an attempt to nail down the details of the agreement.

They missed the Oct. 31 deadline to agree on a new SDS, which is how they were disqualified for state funding in the first place.

Bill Slaughter, Lowndes County Commission chairman, said he is glad funding has been reinstated but pointed out the ruling is just one move of many needed to fully resolve the current riff.

“It is important to remember this is a part of an ongoing legal action, not a resolution to the issue at hand,” he said.

The county has always wanted the SDS to remain the same, repeatedly saying the most recent SDS, from 2008, is still adequate for the needs of the county and all of its cities. However, the county’s five cities — Valdosta, Hahira, Lake Park, Dasher and Remerton — have asked that revisions be made to the SDS to account for local growth and change during the past several years.

Those differing visions for the SDS — one that seeks a continuation of the 2008 agreement and the other that requires deep revisions to it — is the cause of conflict between the county and cities that has escalated throughout the past year, prompting unsuccessful legal mediation and then the current lawsuit.

Slaughter encouraged residents to “be informed and engaged” on the SDS argument and reminds people all SDS court proceedings are open to the public. He said residents can get their hands on all related documents through the Lowndes County Clerk of Superior Court.