Two days after a proposed Cobb stormwater fee was introduced, several dozen citizens turned out Thursday at a town hall meeting in East Cobb for a more detailed presentation.
Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell—who has expressed opposition to the measure—and Cobb Water System director Judy Jones presided at the Tim D. Lee Center.
Some of the several dozen or so citizens who attended occasionally interrupted. A question-and-answer period was at times difficult to keep under control.
Amid cries of “rain tax” and concerns over a service fee being imposed when Cobb voters will be asked to approve a 30-year transit tax in November, the sense of anger was evident.
“You’re coming for our money!” shouted East Cobb resident Hill Wright, who’s been a vocal critic of the stormwater fee and is part of a group opposing it called CobbTaxRevolt.com.
He added that “they”—meaning county commissioners—”want us to pay, instead of them prioritizing their spending.”
A few others apologized to Jones, telling them she wasn’t the person they’re upset with.
Jones patiently explained that stormwater charges are included on water and sewer bills, and for the need to bill them separately so that the aging system can be upgraded and properly maintained.
The fee has been suggested since damaging floods in 2021 that affected many homeowners in East Cobb, some of whom were saddled paying for expensive repairs.
“The way we’re charging now, residential customers are paying more than commercial customers,” she said. “I’m trying to fix that. But I have to have more money to do that. The way we do it now is not equitable.”
Cobb commissioners will be asked next Tuesday to do that, and to approve a dedicated fee that Jones said could range from $2 to $12 a month for most residential customers. Roughly two-thirds of residential customers would pay $4 or less a month, according to her presentation.
The proposed code amendments include basing that charge on the amount of impervious surfaces, which she said would mean commercial customers typically would be charged more.
Stormwater services are handled by the water department to the tune of $8.4 million a year, a figure Jones said isn’t enough to do what’s needed.
“It takes money to do this work,” she noted, adding that her own department doesn’t have dedicated stormwater repair crews. They’re contracted out, but some private companies on occasion decline the work.
The Cobb Water System for years has transferred some of its revenues to the county general fund—currently 6 percent, around $15 million.
Birrell said she cannot support a fee as long as that continues, and East Cobb resident Larry Savage blamed her colleagues.
“The Board of Commissioners refused to fund this thing because they had other priorities, and that has to change,” he said.
He was followed by East Cobb civic activist Debbie Fisher, who said that “we’re being taxed enough already.”
She rattled off other factors, such as increased density, for growing stormwater problems, mentioning the new MarketPlace Terrell Mill multi-use development on Powers Ferry Road, as well as county spending on outside consultants, among other expenses.
“And yet, you want us to pay more,” she said, calling it “the big steal.”
Looking at Jones, Fisher—a Republican appointee to the Cobb Elections Board—mentioned the three Democratic commissioners by name, saying they’re “the people who should be up there taking the shots.”
Other town halls on the stormwater fee are being held this week in elsewhere in Cobb before the commissioners’ vote next Tuesday. That also includes a final public hearing on the issue.
Related:
- 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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