Upset over 2010 sewer hike, council picks 3 new members to fill vacancies
For all the past controversy, the appointment of new members to the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority occurred without a hitch at the March 27 meeting of the Peachtree City Council.
John Cheatham, John Harrell, Terry Garlock and alternate Bill Holland received a unanimous vote by council members after virtually no discussion. And what few comments there were came from Councilman Eric Imker who said all the candidates were excellent and Mayor Don Haddix who noted that all candidates gave phenomenal interviews.
The appointment Thursday night of three of the five WASA board members followed discussions in January when some on the council resisted a recommendation to reappoint board member Tim Meredith as the council was considering the appointments of two additional authority members after those seats had been vacated by resignations.
Although WASA board members are appointed by council, the WASA board is a separate fiscal component and is not part of city government. WASA’s board makes decisions on rates and fees along with staffing levels and infrastructure repairs, as well as day-to-day operations through General Manager Stephen Hogan.
Imker in his previous position on rejecting Meredith’s reappointment cited the October 2010 sewer rate increase adopted by WASA that gave most residential customers an increase of $20 a month or more.
