City Council approves law creating stormwater fees, rates expected to be set Friday
Published 10:20 am Tuesday, February 20, 2018
DALTON, Ga. — Members of the Dalton City Council Monday night approved a law creating new fees to fund stormwater control. But Dalton residents won’t find out what those fees are until Friday.
The council voted 4-0 to approve an ordinance creating stormwater fees and authorizing the city’s Public Works Committee to set those fees. Mayor Dennis Mock typically votes only in the event of a tie.
Trending
“I’m disappointed that the council voted without holding any discussion,” said Dalton resident Jevin Jensen. “And I’m concerned that the fees will not be set by the council as a whole but by an appointed committee.”
The Public Works Committee consists of council members Gary Crews and Annalee Harlan. The committee will meet Friday at 11 a.m. at the public works headquarters at 535 Elm St. The meeting is open to the public.
City officials say they want to raise some $628,000 a year to fund the four-man crew that inspects and maintains the stormwater infrastructure as well as to fund the $175,000 the city pays the Whitfield County engineering department to manage regulatory, plan review and permitting aspects of stormwater control. The city has been paying those costs out of general revenue since it assumed responsibility for stormwater control from Dalton Utilities in 2015.
When the council members held a first reading of the ordinance two weeks ago, officials were talking about a $2 fee a month for residential water customers. They had not yet determined what the rates for commercial and industrial customers would be.
“The original amount for residential rates was estimated to be $2 per month, but we believe it will may be closer to $1 per month,” said City Administrator Jason Parker. “Accurately determining locations which would be classified as industrial or commercial has required considerably more effort. As of this past Friday, the public works administration was actively vetting the industrial and commercial locations to ensure proper billing. For those categories, it makes sense to wait until they have had a chance to verify all of the data and locations, and we feel sure they will be ready in time for the Friday meeting.”
Former mayor David Pennington spoke against the fees, saying Dalton is already the highest taxed city in north Georgia.
Trending
Members of the League of Women Voters of the Dalton Area also spoke against the fees.
“We haven’t seen anything to document the necessity for this,” said League President Helen Crawford. “And they haven’t reassured that it will be a designated fund. It will be the same thing that is happening everywhere. They will put it in general funds where it can be spent on other items.”
Council members said they believe the fees are needed.
“I have confidence in public works to do their due diligence and be good stewards of the funds that are allocated to them,” said Harlan.
Crews said he is confident they will have enough information before the Public Works Committee meets.