Through two days of insults, recriminations and repeated interruptions, Forsyth County commissioners constructed a new offer Wednesday to buy water from the city of Cumming.
After labeling an earlier proposal "astronomically crazy," Commissioner Todd Levent laid out his conditions before he would provide the vote needed to send the offer to the city.
The new proposal seeks reduced rates for treated water and triple the rate for raw water. If accepted by the city, it could save county customers about $28 million over the next 15 years compared with the current contract, county officials said.
The plan follows two days of debate among the four commissioners who at times shouted down one another and traded taunts. The county's current contract expires May 26, and Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt has said if a deal is not struck by then, water rates to the county's 47,000 customers could rise "dramatically."
Wednesday's proposal passed 3-1, with Chairman Jim Boff opposed. Commissioner Pete Amos, who operates a water distribution business, has recused himself from the talks.
The split vote means the offer is nonbinding and can be withdrawn. That's something the Cumming officials have already scowled at.
Late last month, the Cumming City Council rejected three nonbinding proposals submitted by three separate commissioners.
On Monday, it rejected the county's first binding proposal, which included an offer of $11.4 million to buy 65 percent ownership of the city's upgraded intake facility at the lake.
The county's new proposal calls for a five-year agreement for finished water at $2.25 per 1,000 gallons, about 17 cents cheaper than the rate in the current contract. It also seeks a 15-year contract for raw water at 30 cents per 1,000 gallons, 20 cents more than the current rate. After that, the rate would drop to 20 cents.
There is no provision to pay the city's $11.4 million for a share of the cost for the intake plant. There is a stipulation, however, that the increased rate for raw water would secure the county's right to 65 percent of the intake capacity.
Commissioners also voted to ask the city to extend the current contract to June 20 so public hearings could be held on the proposal and a binding vote could be taken.
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