Thursday night's meeting of the Fayette County Commission could feature a few more fireworks than usual.

The main issue on Thursday's agenda is a public hearing on the county's 2005 budget. This year's General Fund budget is just over $47 million, and rolls back the assessments for county homeowners.

Usually, the public hearings for the budget have all the excitement of watching paint dry, but this year the populace seems fired up about funding extra officers for the Sheriff's Department Drug Task Force.

During budget negotiations, Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan asked the board to fund another agent because drug activity was on the increase in the county. The county denied Jordan's request, which set off yet another firestorm of controversy between the Sheriff's Department and the County Commission.

Jordan called the commissioners liars, while the commissioners said the department could move another officer into that position.

The other interesting item on the agenda is storm-water management. The County Commission could soon make homeowners' associations mandatory for all new subdivisions in the county.

That's one of the options the county's leaders are considering to comply with tough new storm-water management requirements established by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.

Phil Mallon, who works in the county's engineering department, briefed the board last month on the preferred option.

He suggested that all inspection and maintenance of any storm-water collection areas, such as detention ponds, be placed with the subdivision's homeowners' association. The county would monitor the group's compliance with the ordinance and if the group failed to maintain standards, each homeowner would be assessed for the county's work on their next tax bill.

"Who's mandating this? I don't like it. Our other option is a storm-water utility," said Commissioner Herb Frady.

Mallon did say that a storm-water utility, like the ones implemented in Fayetteville and Peachtree City, is an option, but said he believes it would cause an increase in the county's staff.

"We'd rather not create more government," said Commissioner Linda Wells.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the administrative complex on Stonewall Avenue.