COOPERATION?
(Ron Seder 11/14/98)

Forsyth County finally broke ground for its own water plant on November 5, 1998. On that occasion Commission Chairman, Bill Jenkins, and the Forsyth County News, praised the "cooperation" of the Cumming City leaders, credited the current Board of Commissioners with obtaining a Lake Lanier withdrawal permit from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and were critical of the prior Board of Commissioners.

Those plaudits and accusations are misleading and not exactly correct, and I think we all deserve to know the truth. Let's examine the record. First, the cooperation between the City leaders and the current Board of Commissioners has cost the County an unjustified $15 million to $20 million. Second, the prior Board of Commissioners ended the City leaders' long-time domination of the County water system. Third, the prior Board of Commissioners forced the Lake Lanier withdrawal permit from the Georgia EPD, over the continuing objections of the City leaders.

The baseless $15 million to $20 million payment to the City by the County consists of a groundless increase in the water price the County pays the City, an unjustified award of the County's Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds and a portion of the $4.8 million the County paid the City to share the Lake Lanier water withdrawal.

During the prior Board's tenure the City unilaterally raised its water price to the County from $1.45 per thousand gallons to $1.94 per thousand gallons. The price increase was not warranted. The City leaders rationalized the price increase with an illogical pricing methodology never before used by the City. The County asked the court to get involved in the dispute and that was the status at the time the new Commissioners took office in 1997. The new Commissioners soon agreed to give the City $1.88 per thousand gallons, a settlement that I conclude will cost the County an unwarranted $5 million or more. That was not a fair price for City "cooperation".

The prior Board concluded that the County had to have its own water plant, and applied to the Georgia EPD for a permit to withdraw and treat its own drinking water. For a long time Forsyth County had been denied a permit for its own water plant by the Georgia EPD. The City had been the major supplier of County water for years and because that was financially profitable for the City, the City wanted to keep it that way. The Georgia EPD, encouraged by the City leadership, denied the withdrawal permit to Forsyth County. The County then sued the Georgia EPD for refusing the permit and the out of court settlement resulted in the County being awarded a Georgia withdrawal permit. That permit helped in obtaining City "cooperation".

During 1998 the County passed a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) that is projected to cost the taxpayers $100 million. The Board of Commissioners gave the City $15 million, a 15% share, of that $100 million. That is an overpayment of $10 million. Only 5% of County citizens reside in the City. That is not a fair price for City "cooperation".

One of the last points I want to make here deals with the County sharing the City's Lake Lanier withdrawal. The City agreed to allow the County to share its water withdrawal, which was a way around an illogical Corps of Engineer's rule dealing with Lake Lanier withdrawals. I believe the County could have obtained its own Lake Lanier withdrawal if it had been willing to challenge the Corps of Engineers rule. However, the County agreed to pay the City $4.8 million to share its lake withdrawal. I suspect that is an unfair price for City "cooperation".

Chances are that the City is receiving so much money from the County that the City has to invent ways to spend it all. There are a lot of County needs that could be addressed with the unjustified $15 million to $20 million these agreements are costing the County.

Why would most of the County Commissioners give our money to the City? First, the City worked very hard to get these "cooperative" candidates elected to the Board of Commissioners. And second, I don't think they are particularly prudent with taxpayer funds.