East Cobb News

After hours of often contentious public comment from citizens and business leaders and a lengthy discussion among themselves, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to delay action on a stormwater fee in the county.

The clock was approaching midnight when the 5-0 was cast, as commissioners decided to hear more from the public as county officials make revisions and develop other materials for implementation.

The vote included two more public hearings in August, with tentative action scheduled for Aug. 27.

Despite pleas from Chairwoman Lisa Cupid to address the matter now, she later made a motion to table following District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson’s insistence that stakeholders sessions be conducted to go over what she called “a big issue . . . but it’s complex.”

She’s been at the center of efforts to address stormwater issues in the wake of September 2021 floods that damaged the homes and properties of many East Cobb residents, some of whom were left to pay for repairs themselves.

Richardson said it’s important for the county to be proactive, rather than reactive, to stormwater issues. “It’s only going to get worse if we don’t do something,” she said.

But, she added, “what we have is a really great start.”

The stormwater proposal would change how residential and commercial customers are billed—currently based on water usage—to the amount of impervious surface on a property.

The dedicated stormwater fee would be used to upgrade aging pipes and clear an extensive backlog of orders. Cobb Water System Director Judy Jones said the $8.4 million annual budget for stormwater services isn’t enough to do that, and to hire crews to do the work.

The typical stormwater fee would range from $2 to $12 a month for most residential customers, in addition to their existing water and sewer charges. Roughly two-thirds of residential customers would pay $4 or less a month, according to her presentation.

Commercial and institutional customers could pay up to $21 a month.

Since an initial public hearing two weeks ago, commissioners have been getting an earful from citizens, including at several town halls across the county.

On Tuesday, they renewed their calls at least for a delayed vote, saying what the county has presented isn’t adequate. Others threatened to take action with their votes in the upcoming primaries.

On occasion there was heckling and interruptions, and Cupid issued numerous warnings. At one point, she called for a recess and threatened those making outbursts with being removed from the meeting room.

“Table this, and better educate the citizens,” South Cobb resident Dani Wilson said. “May 21 [primary day] can’t get here fast enough.”

East Cobb resident Becky Klein, whose property was heavily damaged by the 2021 floods, said she had to make $100,000 in repairs to her home and property after a stormwater pipe in her yard that fed into Sope Creek failed, creating a sinkhole and crushing a culvert.

Klein said the county declared it wasn’t responsible and that a stormwater plat of her property was incorrectly omitted from the county’s records.

“I do not agree that the county can pick and choose which pipes to maintain,” she said. “Please table this; voting yes would cause further hardship for this.”

Other complaint referenced taxing and spending matters by the county that included last year’s budget without a millage rate rollback; a referendum in November for a 30-year transit tax; and commission redistricting maps that are currently before the Georgia Supreme Court.

“This isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue, it’s not a black-white issue, or a male-female issue,” said Sheila Edwards of South Cobb, who is challenging Cupid in the Democratic primary. “It’s a common-sense issue.”

More recently, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce asked for a delay in a vote on a stormwater fee and for the Cobb Water System “to provide data and information on the impact of the stormwater fee on commercial property owners.”

The Chamber said in the letter it was not consulted beforehand by the county, and noted that commercial property owners are required to maintain their own stormwater facilities, unlike many homeowners.

“We fear that the current proposal will discourage private commercial development, harming our community’s ability to attract jobs and investment,” the letter said. “We also fear that a stormwater utility will drive up the cost for redevelopment making it even more difficult to spur redevelopment in areas of Cobb County such as South Cobb and our major commercial centers.”

During a discussion period, Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb said “this isn’t ready for a vote tonight. It needs some more work.”

She’s been opposed to a stormwater fee as long as the county diverts a fraction of water system revenues—currently 6 percent, or $15 million—to the general fund.

Jones said of that $15 million, only around $500,000 are from stormwater revenues.

Cupid said the stormwater proposal isn’t a “panacea,” but repeated a claim she’s made often, dating to. her time as a district commissioner in South Cobb.

“The argument will be that it’s not the right time,” she said. “This has been on the table for almost two decades and we’ve seen stormwater issues continue to get worse. It further places the burden on our future.”

When Richardson initially called for a delay, Cupid told her “we’ve been discussing this for two years.”

Richardson replied, “I understand . . . but I’m passionate about this. We have to make sure that [citizen input] is incorporated into what we’re voting on.”

Related:

• Cobb government offices to be closed for Good Friday
• Citizens ramp up fury at stormwater town hall meeting
• Cobb residents blast stormwater fee proposal as ‘rain tax’
• Public hearings, vote, scheduled for Cobb stormwater fee proposal
• Cobb seeks grants to preserve African-American cemeteries
• Cobb commissioners set 2024 referendum for transit sales tax
• East Cobb transit center, bus routes on Cobb Mobility SPLOST project list
• Cobb to distribute $4.5M in ARPA funds to child care centers

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