Rome officials urged state lawmakers this morning not to completely remove resources and revenue from local control.
Revisions are pending in the Georgia General Assembly to revise the way both water and taxation are handled statewide. The 40-day session opens Monday.
“Be careful what you change to accommodate a few counties that are having problems,” Mayor Wright Bagby Jr. said.
State Reps. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, and Rick Crawford, D-Cedartown, attended the breakfast meeting hosted by the Rome City Commission. Representatives from the Georgia Municipal Association also were invited to share city concerns statewide.
City Manager John Bennett said several elements in the the proposed Statewide Comprehensive Water Management Plan seem to favor the metro Atlanta area over Rome and other parts of the state.
He also presented documentation showing Rome is being frugal with both its water use and its spending.
Click here to download a PDF detailing city spending for the past 10 years.
Click here for more on the proposed statewide water plan.
For the complete story, see Friday’s Rome News-Tribune.
