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Residents press board on proposed stormwater fee and proposed trash-service code changes
Summary
Multiple residents used public comment Oct. 28 to oppose a proposed stormwater fee (commonly called the "rain tax" by speakers) and to criticize proposed trash-service code changes that would mandate certain collection practices. Speakers described affordability concerns, accountability questions and broader distrust of incremental changes.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the Oct. 28 Cobb County Board of Commissioners meeting to oppose a proposed stormwater fee and to criticize proposed changes to trash-service regulations.
Speakers described the proposed stormwater fee as a recurring charge that would shift maintenance costs to residents, sometimes calling it a "rain tax." Hill Wright told the board the stormwater function was moved out of the general fund in 1985 and said, "We don't want Chair Cupid's rain tax," urging the commissioners to reconsider further fees and staff proposals. Craig Harfoot raised technical concerns about impervious-surface approaches and local drainage impacts, describing how filling a pond and increased impervious surface could worsen flooding in downstream neighborhoods.
Commenters also objected to proposed trash-service code changes that they said would replace choice with mandates for haulers and add requirements such as mandatory curbside placement and expanded recycling obligations. Hill Wright said the proposed code would replace the "free market of family owned haulers" with mandates and questioned the economics of requiring recycling when most collected material becomes landfill-bound.
Speakers urged greater transparency and staff accountability. Several said prior public votes (including a 2024 referendum rejecting MARTA expansion) showed taxpayers' reluctance to accept new, ongoing charges, and asked commissioners to avoid further fees without clearer plans on use of funds and cost controls.
Commissioners did not take a final vote on the stormwater fee or the trash-code text at the Oct. 28 meeting; the transcript notes that draft code amendments were available for review and public hearings were scheduled on Nov. 12 and Nov. 20. The record of public comment indicates residents want additional explanation of how funds would be used, which properties would be charged, and what alternatives exist to the proposed structures.
