A number of options to collect stormwater fees from Cobb homeowners, businesses and institutions was presented to the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
Cobb doesn’t collect a stormwater fee, but for more than a year, the Cobb County Water System has been researching potential options to maintain and upgrade a stormwater system that officials say is under severe strain.
During a work session Tuesday, water system director Judy Jones presented a detailed set of options that include imposing an average monthly fee ranging between $2.12 to $5, based on the amount of impervious surface on a property.
That would amount to a smaller fee for homeowners and a larger bill for commercial and institutional properties.
Cobb water and sewer customers are currently billed according to usage, ranging from $2.14 for 5,000 gallons or less a month for residences to $7.06 for heavy commercial users (15,000 gallons or more) for combined services.
That proposal is less than what nearby jurisdictions charge for stormwater fees, including some of Cobb’s cities.
Basing a fee on impervious surface, Jones said, would “create dedicated funding” for stormwater repairs.
Since 1994, Cobb has funded stormwater maintenance from water and sewer fees, and it’s been nearly two decades since a consultant recommended the county impose a stormwater fee.
The county has admitted it lacks staffing and resources to adequately handle demands on the system, which include older and failing pipes and maintenance of several hundred detention ponds.
Those concerns were accelerated following floods in East Cobb and elsewhere in the county in 2021, and prompted commissioners to explore the possibility of stormwater fees.
The Cobb water system currently spends $8.4 million a year on stormwater costs, including capital improvement projects. Jones presented nine options for expanded services that would increase that total to $19 million annually if they were all approved, by collecting $5.01 a month in stormwater fees from individual customers.
That would include hiring several positions to conduct repairs, provide engineering and inspection services and update the system’s map of detention ponds it maintains.
Jones said her staff is still trying to determine how many detention ponds the county is responsible for, including mowing and landscaping, but the best estimate is around 300.
When Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said “that’s not sustainable,” from a time as well as financial context, Jones said that “we’re not maintaining them the way they need to be.”
Jones presented slides showing such things as a sample bill including a stormwater fee, with the charge for a Tier 2 residence (around 2,000 gallons a month) going up by only 3 cents, from $71.10 to $71.13, using the impervious surface formula.
However, the monthly bill for a “big box” commercial customer would go up by more than $217, from $1,777 to $1,808.
Jones said special lower formulas could be worked out for non-commercial institutions, such as schools and churches, which have a lot of impervious surfaces.
The two Republicans on the commission have said previously they oppose a stormwater fee, calling it a tax.
GOP Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb asked Tuesday if there there would be town halls or public meetings ahead of any vote on whether to charge a stormwater fee.
She has been opposed as long as a portion of Cobb Water System revenues are transferred every year to the county’s general fund budget.
This year that figure is 6 percent, after commissioners voted along party lines to raise water rates by nearly 8 percent.
County attorney Bill Rowling said public hearings would be required for any changes to the county code regarding stormwater fees.
Cupid added that “anything you can do to educate the public would be generous,” and she referenced recent meetings about the proposed Cobb Mobility SPLOST.
“I think we can err on the side of being generous,” she said.
Jones said she would make her presentation available on the county website. Commissioners didn’t discuss a timetable for any possible action, but hearings and public feedback are expected to continue into the middle of 2024.
A few other related slides from Jones’ presentation Tuesday are included below, along with a replay of the work session. It lasts an hour and 17 minutes.
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