The last of the $147 million that Cobb County government received in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds will go toward addressing stormwater issues.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to spend the final sum of $3 million on a variety of stormwater projects.
The vote was 4-1 with Chairwoman Lisa Cupid opposed. An agenda item and discussion at the meeting didn’t specify the stormwater work to be done, but stated that those with “critical” needs would be prioritized.
Cupid preferred distributing the money to community non-profits to help those with housing needs, but her colleagues agreed that another longstanding issue that has galvanized public attention in recent months needed to be addressed.
The county had to earmark the funding by the end of the year—the deadline the U.S. government set for using the COVID-era relief money.
After months of contentious meetings, commissioners voted in July to table a proposal by Cupid to establish a stormwater utility fee.
“There’s definitely a need everywhere, but I think that with the balance, I’m for keeping it in county departments,” District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb said.
Cobb Financial Officer Bill Volckmann said that more than $80 million of the county’s ARPA allocation has gone for housing-related needs, and the rest mainly went to county government departments and agencies.
The stormwater issue arose after major floods in September 2021 affected many homeowners, including in the East Cobb area.
The Cobb County Water System drafted a proposal to change the way the county charges property owners for stormwater services.
Currently, they pay for that according to water usage. Switching to a formula based on amount of impervious surfaces would range from charging $2 to $12 a month for most residential customers, according to water system calculations.
Birrell and Commissioner Keli Gambrill of District 1 in North Cobb have been opposed to the fee, which some critics called a “rain tax.”
Cobb Water System director Judy Jones has said the current system isn’t enough to pay for what’s needed to maintain the county’s aging stormwater infrastructure.
Following a heated town hall meeting in East Cobb in March, and at other venues, commissioners shelved the proposal, and no timetable has been announced for bringing it back.
“That’s something that we can’t continue to not address,” said District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield of South Cobb, who supported using the ARPA funds for stormwater work.
“Those issues are real and they’re impacting people.”
District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson noted that surveys sent out to the public reflected that stormwater and housing were the top needs that were stated.
But Cupid said the continuing stormwater issues mean that the county will have to continue to look for ways to generate recurring revenue for those purposes.
“I don’t want to give anyone the impression that we’re resolving Cobb County’s stormwater needs through this agenda item.”
Related:
- New Gritters Library ‘a community asset for the whole area’
- Cobb commissioners withdraw ADU proposal
- Birrell calls accessory dwelling units ‘a bad idea’
- Cobb proposes ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units
- Richardson pens note to constituents of ‘old District 2’
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