At the urging of Chairman Danny Yearwood, the Barrow County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night rejected a request from Auburn officials to waive $22,500 in fees for hooking the city’s library and other public buildings onto the new sewer system that the city government constructed downtown.
After some apparently testy private negotiations with Yearwood, Commissioner Billy Parks brought to the board the city’s request, saying Auburn had paid the entire cost of constructing the $550,000 system that is being given to the county.
But Yearwood said an existing agreement between the county and the city did not contain a provision for Auburn to hook up to the system for free.
He said if he allowed the city to forego the so-called “capacity fee” of $4,500 per hookup, he would face similar requests from Kerala Gardens that recently paid for a gravity sewer line near highways 53 and 316 and from Schutz Container Systems Inc. that is coming to the town of Carl and will need sewer service.
He said the capacity fees help pay the county’s longterm debt on sewer infrastructure.
Auburn request denied by county
Saturday, June 12. 2010
However Parks said city officials have interpreted their intergovernmental agreement with the county differently and believe that because the city’s taxpayers had paid the entire cost of the city’s new system, the public buildings should be allowed to connect without paying the additional county fee.
Parks indicated that the city also might be on the hook for a lot more than the $22,500 owed on the five public buildings, however.
After completing its sewer project, city officials sent a letter to all property owners in Auburn’s downtown overlay district saying they could tap into the system for only the cost of physically tying their individual properties into the new system.
The one-time offer had a short deadline, and 12 private property owners responded, paying only the $1,100 cost to physically connect their buildings to the system.
Parks did not mention it Tuesday night, but he acknowledged in an interview several days ago that he was one of the property owners who took up the city’s offer.
He said he disclosed that fact to county officials, including Yearwood.
“I told the chairman and (wastewater services director) Mark Whiddon my name was on the list,” Parks said. “They did know that because I bought a permit.”
If he had brought the board a request to waive the entire $81,000 in fees for all 18 public and private hookups, Parks said he would have recused himself from the vote.
He said he decided to scale back his request after Yearwood indicated to him privately that he would support waiving the fees for the public buildings.
However, on Tuesday night Parks acknowledged that the intergovernmental agreement does not include any provision for the city to offer free hookups before transferring ownership of the system to the county.
He also told the Barrow Journal that he decided to take the city’s request to the full board after receiving a call from Auburn Mayor Linda Blechinger following her private meeting with Yearwood and Whiddon.
Blechinger told him that Yearwood not only refused her request, but cursed.
“One thing that got me started was when the mayor met with Danny and Mark Whiddon, he told her ‘no damn way’ he would waive any fees,” Parks said.
“I said I would take it to the board… He didn’t have to say that to her.”
Tuesday night, Yearwood also brought up the fact that Auburn has been saving money by buying water from Barrow County at unsustainably low wholesale prices.
“We’ve lost $1 million in the last four years selling water to our municipalities,” Yearwood said. “Auburn has made a statement that it was able to give employees raises because of the money made on utilities.”
The county government, he said, couldn’t do that.
“The issue has got to be discussed. When we were doing service delivery (negotiations)… nobody wanted to talk about it.”
He said all of the county’s mayors brought up the fact that their cities have existing contracts for what they pay the county for water.
“They said we have a contract,” he said. That argument appeared to turn the tide on the sewer fee issue.
Commissioner Steve Worley told Parks just before the vote that he had changed his mind on the issue.
The vote was 2-4, with only Parks and Ben Hendrix voting in favor of the city’s request.
Blechinger did not respond to the newspaper’s inquiry Tuesday night, but she said in an interview prior to the meeting that Yearwood’s argument tying Auburn’s request to potential requests for fee waivers from commercial developers is not valid.
“We put our own infrastructure into the ground, and our taxpayers paid to put that sewer in, and we are signing the project over to the county without any cost to the county,” she said.
“That money came out of our general fund, not SPLOST or a GEFA loan. That is taxpayer dollars our citizens paid in (city) property taxes.
“So these property owners have spent over $500,000 putting that system in the ground. The county didn’t put one cent in. Not one cent.”
She said Auburn’s taxpayers also are paying for the county’s infrastructure through taxes they pay to the county.
“Auburn taxpayers will be paying the debt service on the GEFA loans to get sewer to Hwy. 53/316, to the Hwy. 211 corridor, and to everywhere else infrastructure goes in.
“But Barrow County taxpayers do not contribute to the Auburn general fund, and it was that fund that paid the entire cost of the Auburn sewer project.”
The board’s rejection of the city’s request means the city will have to pay the county $22,500 for the hookups of the Auburn library, city hall, police station, community center and public works building.
Parks said city officials are still working out who will be responsible for the taps on private properties.
“Someone will pay for them,” Parks said smiling.
Auburn city administrator Ron Griffith said in an e-mail that the city completed construction of the downtown sewer on May 1 at a cost of $552,764 in city reserve funds.
“The main trunk lines, manholes, and sewer taps at the right of ways were installed for the downtown sewer project at no cost to the county.”
Before the city conveyed the improvements to Barrow County, it connected the five city facilities and proposed a “one-time window of opportunity” for commercial property owners to connect their wastewater from septic tank operations to the new sewer taps installed by the city, he said.
“It was also necessary for the proper operation of the system to create a customer base for the operation of the system in the downtown area.”
Each owner hired a certified plumber to connect a line from its building to the tap that the city installed at the right of way, obtained a $189 permit fee, had the connection inspected by the city, and is currently paying the county for service, Griffith said.
The connections were completed by April 30, and the city was in the process of adopting a resolution conveying all of the improvements and easements and adopting the Barrow County Sewer Ordinance when it learned that the city was being held responsible for the $4,500 capacity fee on each site, Griffith said.
Parks indicated that the city also might be on the hook for a lot more than the $22,500 owed on the five public buildings, however.
After completing its sewer project, city officials sent a letter to all property owners in Auburn’s downtown overlay district saying they could tap into the system for only the cost of physically tying their individual properties into the new system.
The one-time offer had a short deadline, and 12 private property owners responded, paying only the $1,100 cost to physically connect their buildings to the system.
Parks did not mention it Tuesday night, but he acknowledged in an interview several days ago that he was one of the property owners who took up the city’s offer.
He said he disclosed that fact to county officials, including Yearwood.
“I told the chairman and (wastewater services director) Mark Whiddon my name was on the list,” Parks said. “They did know that because I bought a permit.”
If he had brought the board a request to waive the entire $81,000 in fees for all 18 public and private hookups, Parks said he would have recused himself from the vote.
He said he decided to scale back his request after Yearwood indicated to him privately that he would support waiving the fees for the public buildings.
However, on Tuesday night Parks acknowledged that the intergovernmental agreement does not include any provision for the city to offer free hookups before transferring ownership of the system to the county.
He also told the Barrow Journal that he decided to take the city’s request to the full board after receiving a call from Auburn Mayor Linda Blechinger following her private meeting with Yearwood and Whiddon.
Blechinger told him that Yearwood not only refused her request, but cursed.
“One thing that got me started was when the mayor met with Danny and Mark Whiddon, he told her ‘no damn way’ he would waive any fees,” Parks said.
“I said I would take it to the board… He didn’t have to say that to her.”
Tuesday night, Yearwood also brought up the fact that Auburn has been saving money by buying water from Barrow County at unsustainably low wholesale prices.
“We’ve lost $1 million in the last four years selling water to our municipalities,” Yearwood said. “Auburn has made a statement that it was able to give employees raises because of the money made on utilities.”
The county government, he said, couldn’t do that.
“The issue has got to be discussed. When we were doing service delivery (negotiations)… nobody wanted to talk about it.”
He said all of the county’s mayors brought up the fact that their cities have existing contracts for what they pay the county for water.
“They said we have a contract,” he said. That argument appeared to turn the tide on the sewer fee issue.
Commissioner Steve Worley told Parks just before the vote that he had changed his mind on the issue.
The vote was 2-4, with only Parks and Ben Hendrix voting in favor of the city’s request.
Blechinger did not respond to the newspaper’s inquiry Tuesday night, but she said in an interview prior to the meeting that Yearwood’s argument tying Auburn’s request to potential requests for fee waivers from commercial developers is not valid.
“We put our own infrastructure into the ground, and our taxpayers paid to put that sewer in, and we are signing the project over to the county without any cost to the county,” she said.
“That money came out of our general fund, not SPLOST or a GEFA loan. That is taxpayer dollars our citizens paid in (city) property taxes.
“So these property owners have spent over $500,000 putting that system in the ground. The county didn’t put one cent in. Not one cent.”
She said Auburn’s taxpayers also are paying for the county’s infrastructure through taxes they pay to the county.
“Auburn taxpayers will be paying the debt service on the GEFA loans to get sewer to Hwy. 53/316, to the Hwy. 211 corridor, and to everywhere else infrastructure goes in.
“But Barrow County taxpayers do not contribute to the Auburn general fund, and it was that fund that paid the entire cost of the Auburn sewer project.”
The board’s rejection of the city’s request means the city will have to pay the county $22,500 for the hookups of the Auburn library, city hall, police station, community center and public works building.
Parks said city officials are still working out who will be responsible for the taps on private properties.
“Someone will pay for them,” Parks said smiling.
Auburn city administrator Ron Griffith said in an e-mail that the city completed construction of the downtown sewer on May 1 at a cost of $552,764 in city reserve funds.
“The main trunk lines, manholes, and sewer taps at the right of ways were installed for the downtown sewer project at no cost to the county.”
Before the city conveyed the improvements to Barrow County, it connected the five city facilities and proposed a “one-time window of opportunity” for commercial property owners to connect their wastewater from septic tank operations to the new sewer taps installed by the city, he said.
“It was also necessary for the proper operation of the system to create a customer base for the operation of the system in the downtown area.”
Each owner hired a certified plumber to connect a line from its building to the tap that the city installed at the right of way, obtained a $189 permit fee, had the connection inspected by the city, and is currently paying the county for service, Griffith said.
The connections were completed by April 30, and the city was in the process of adopting a resolution conveying all of the improvements and easements and adopting the Barrow County Sewer Ordinance when it learned that the city was being held responsible for the $4,500 capacity fee on each site, Griffith said.
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And actually it's Worley you need to be thanking. He's the one who connected the dots.
They were set to vote, and until he (Worley) started discussing the issue, I truly thought they were going to let Auburn get away with it.
Those that don't agree with this, think back to when the cities (Auburn included) were asked to make changes to the water agreement between them and the county. The attitude then was it's a contract and a contract is a contract. Can't have it both ways.
So on this one I'm behind the BOC 110%.
You and I both know that this chairman is not perfect, and he has made more than a few mistakes.
The information presented last year: Overstated water expenses and understated water revenue. Selling water to the cities at a loss was home cooked fiction.
Want to clear this up? Have Mr. Worley ask for an annual update of the water sales situation and this time make the WSA provide accurate revenue and expense numbers. Also they should explain every large expenditure during the year. Are there real losses or are there deliberate losses?
Jacqueline, I think you should check with one of the cities to get...the rest of the story.
I agree with you about Yearwood.He has got to go.
years selling water to our
municipalities,” Yearwood said. “Auburn
has made a statement that it was able to
give employees raises because of the
money made on utilities.”'
Mr. Yearwood, please either tell me who in Auburn made that rediculous statement, or admit that you made it up!