Key points:
• Fulton County and its 15 cities must agree on service delivery before the end of the year to be eligible for state and federal funding.
• Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul has said the city wants to purchase its water system from Atlanta this summer and is willing to risk funding.
• While the cost of Atlanta’s water system is unknown, Sandy Springs officials are considering a purchase to ensure water reliability.
Mayor Rusty Paul said at a June 9 Fulton County Board of Commissioners meeting that he’s willing to risk state and federal funding to get Sandy Springs’ first-ever Service Delivery Strategy agreement with Atlanta on water supply and distribution.
Paul has made water reliability a priority during his 12 years in office. Residents and the city have battled Atlanta for 30 years over water rates and system maintenance. Atlanta provides water for Sandy Springs and owns the water system.
“Our position is that we prefer to buy the system from the City of Atlanta and operate it,” Paul said. “What is the capital investment plan for the water system in Sandy Springs that they are currently managing? We have not heard anything from the city of Atlanta … so I am certain that we’re going to go to mediation.”
Background on negotiations
Fulton County and its 15 cities are required by state law to begin mediation on Service Delivery Strategy negotiations by June 25. County officials, commissioners, mayors, and city managers met on May 12 and June 9.
Before the special-called board of commissioners meeting, county and city officials cleared up four of the six outstanding SDS issues from May. While senior services, jail operations/detention, warming/cooling centers, and animal control are “resolved,” water distribution and wastewater treatment remain “major issues.”
Because of potential scheduling conflicts, the board of commissioners agreed to select three mediators, including potential candidates from outside Fulton County. The idea is to ensure calendars line up and the deadline is met.
There are four cities still in water delivery negotiations with Atlanta, the county seat and state capital. According to Fulton County’s schedule, resolutions are set to be approved by the county and each city in September.
Paul said Sandy Springs officials have met once with their Atlanta counterparts, but it “wasn’t very productive.” Sandy Springs is waiting for Atlanta’s response to a June 3 memo, he said.
A court order in December was a setback for Sandy Springs residents. A DeKalb County judge ruled that Atlanta is justified in charging a 21 percent surcharge to residents outside of its jurisdiction.
By March, Sandy Springs officials indicated they would move on from challenging the surcharge and focus on “the level of service … maintenance and other issues related to the water system.”
Sandy Springs puts foot down
Paul briefly went back and forth with an Atlanta official during the May meeting. In June, Paul said Sandy Springs is looking for “a collaborative framework and parallel sales process.”
Paul said he opposes a mediator with ties to Fulton County or either city. He eventually pulled his nomination of a former Senior Superior Court Judge Jack Kirby of the Coweta Judicial Circuit.
“We are working to find a mutually acceptable appraiser to put a definitive value on the system’s assets,” Paul said. “The city attorneys will work with the county attorney to develop a list of mediators.”
While trying to get a consensus on a mediator, attorney Greg Hecht laid out what county and city officials can expect after mediation kicks off on June 25.
“You’re likely to have multiple mediations,” Hecht said. “You’ll probably start with a full session with everybody, and hopefully you resolve everything that day, but if you can’t, you may have some mediations, like I was saying, the City of Atlanta and City of Sandy Springs may have their own sub-mediation.”
In other countywide news:
• An issue related to Fulton’s transportation sales tax (TSPLOST) was resolved, allowing an additional $80 million to be collected through next spring. County officials thanked Sandy Springs City Manager Eden Freeman for her expertise in resolving the issue.
• The county and its cities are finalizing and submitting their project lists for TSPLOST 2027. If Fulton voters approve a November referendum, the 0.75-cent sales tax will be extended another five years.
• Fulton County Chair Robb Pitts told local mayors that Sheriff Pat Labat will formalize his agency’s new policy on low-level misdemeanors by July 1. Pitts said he will meet with the sheriff on June 17 before a June 22 town hall in South Fulton.
