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Cobb County chairwoman defends proposed stormwater utility fee ahead of Nov. 20 hearing
Summary
Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said the proposed stormwater utility would create a dedicated revenue stream to repair aging pipes and detention ponds, reject claims it is a "rain tax," and impose a $4.75 monthly residential fee with commercial charges based on impervious area; a final public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.
Chairwoman Lisa Cupid of Cobb County said the Board of Commissioners is considering a proposed stormwater utility fee and urged residents to attend the final public hearing on Nov. 20.
"This is not a rain tax," Cupid said, describing the proposal as a fee-for-service model similar to water and sewer charges used by other Georgia jurisdictions, including Kennesaw, Smyrna, Gwinnett County and DeKalb County. She said the fee is meant to align costs with how stormwater actually behaves — by impervious surface and runoff — rather than household water consumption.
Cupid said roughly 7,000 properties in unincorporated Cobb County affect the stormwater system but currently pay nothing because they receive water from outside the county. "This is fundamentally unfair," she said.
She addressed concerns about homeowner liability and liens, saying a stormwater utility would not make homeowners responsible for countywide repairs or expose residents to large, unexpected bills. "The county will not take your home," Cupid said, adding that liens would be used only if a property owner refuses to make repairs that are damaging a neighbor's property, and that the county would work out repayment plans with liens enforced only upon sale.
Under the plan described by Cupid, residential customers would pay $4.75 per month. The funds would be earmarked for repairs to aging pipes (some from the 1970s and 1980s), maintenance of hundreds of county-owned detention ponds, additional staff and equipment, and future regional projects. Commercial properties would be charged based on impervious surface area; credits would be available for properties that reduce runoff.
Cupid noted that previous boards have discussed a stormwater utility for nearly two decades and said rising rainfall and repeated flood events have increased the county's infrastructure needs. She announced that the final public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 20, at 6:00 p.m., and encouraged residents to bring accurate information to the hearing.
For more information, Cupid directed listeners to the county's website (the transcript included a typographical error in the printed URL); the county's official site is www.cobbcounty.gov/water.
No vote or final action was recorded in the remarks; the item remains under consideration by the Board of Commissioners with a public hearing scheduled as noted.
