Still No Agreement on a Water Contract

What was once believed to have been at least a verbal agreement on a new water contract between the City of Cumming and Forsyth County has been shredded and the two governments that exist across the street from one another are now miles apart in terms of a new agreement.

but contract language has been a different story.

The city drafted the first intergovernmental agreement and sent it to the county which then redlined it and sent it back. City officials balked at the redlined version and sent it back on June 28.

The most recent proposal set the price for treated water at $2.25 per 1,000 gallons, or 18 cents less than the current rate of $2.43, adjusted to the consumer price index and with a requirement the county purchase a minimum of 1.6 billion gallons per year.

The price for raw water that both sides agreed to was 10 cents per 1,000 gallons. But the latest plan put forth by the city is for Forsyth County to pay $1.25 per 1,000 gallons for up to 4.5 million gallons and $3 per 1,000 gallons for anything in excess of 4.5 million gallons.

On Monday, commissioners voted 4-0 to agree to those terms, infuriating many citizens who felt the city is holding the county hostage.

But a day later, even agreeing to the city's higher rate demand didn't appear to be enough to get the deal done.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, a consultant presented a rate study that indicated the city and county should double the rate to consumers. Mayor Ford Gravitt concluded that after hearing the new information, the city should study the offer from the county more carefully.

That decision angered Commission Chairman Jim Boff who issued a public statement at the start of Thursday's county commission meeting.

"I want to make it clear to anyone and everyone, that the Mayor has already agreed to terms, and should now accept what was previously agreed. I want to make it clear that since negotiations are already over, this commissioner will go no further in negotiation, and expect the city to timely honor what it has already committed to."

Boff then encouraged citizens to contact their state delegations and insist that laws be passed so that municipalities and counties can no longer be left free to treat state water impounded by a federal dam "as an individual gold mine."

It now looks nearly impossible that the two sides will agree to terms before the July 31 election.

What are your thoughts on this latest development between the city and county? Tell us in the comments below.

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