Boff Lashes Out at Mayor, City Council

Updated, July 23, 11 a.m.

Angered by Cumming City Council's failure to ratify terms of a binding agreement to set the rate the city charges the county for water, Forsyth County Commission Chairman Jim Boff made it clear he was done negotiating.

At the start of Thursday's Board of Commissioners meeting, Boff said he attended Tuesday's city council meeting in hopes the agreement would be finalized.

Instead, he said, council listened to a rate study indicating both the city and county charge close to the minimum amount charged by other municipalities both should consider doubling the rate.

"To think that on the basis of a rate study alone, one can begin to talk of raising rates is unbelievable, and to associate the increase without reference to cost is unacceptable," Boff said.

Boff said the consultant advised that the City of Cumming is losing money on every 1,000 gals of finished water the city sells to the county.

"Since the county is the city's largest customer, and since we pay the highest price for water, and since the city does not show a loss in its budget, this conclusion is at best unfounded," he said.

"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."

The latest version of the contract sets the county’s rate for treated water at $2.25 per 1,000 gallons, adjusted to the consumer price index, with a minimum purchase of 1.6 billion gallons annually. The rate for untreated water purchases would be $1.25 per 1,000 gallons.

Boff also called on 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."

In other business before the board, commissioners unanimously approved the 2012 millage rate at 26.574 mils, the same as last year. The overall millage rate is made up of the school board millage of 18.918 mils, the county's maintenance and operating rate (4.812 mils), fire services (1.975 mils) and General Obligation Bonds (0.869 mils).

The county’s 2013 budget is slated for adoption in October.

In addition to adopting the 2012 millage rates for the county’s Maintenance and Operations, Fire and Bond, the Board of Commissioners adopted a Resolution adopting the total 2012 millage rate. As the governing authority, the county Board of Commissioners is required to pass a resolution which includes all of the millage rates of all of the levying authorities that will appear on tax bills.

"We're proud of our department heads for holding the line on spending with many of them coming in under budget," District 4 Commissioner Patrick Bell said. "Because of them, we were able to keep the same effective millage rate with no noticeable increase in service to the citizens."