Letter: How is this stormwater fee — or tax — even calculated?

One of the reasons Rockdale County is having trouble collecting the stormwater "fee/tax" is no one believes it is valid. Most think it's made up. A bunch of bull.

Two months ago I received a bill for two years worth of past due stormwater "fee/tax." I called about it since we had just purchased the home and hadn't been the owners for those two years.

The recorded message I got was that we will get back to you, do not call back or a leave another message, because we will call.

I'm still waiting.

When the stormwater "fee/tax" was first put into place, it was explained to me by a county commissioner that the billing was done on driveway frontage and all homes in Rockdale were billed at $40 for the driveway. I stated to the commissioner that maybe I would take up my driveway and put grass in and not have to pay the bill! There was some stunned agreement to the statement.

The house I have now has a driveway and the stormwater flows back to my house. A flood would not run into the street from my driveway. All the water on my property flows into a private lake, which flows into a creek that leaves the county, so if I owe anyone it may be the next county before my rainwater contaminates anything. If that's true, we are really in trouble.

But I'm now told that is not the way it's figured, it's much more complicated than that! It is not the paved frontage it's calculated by some other means.

I think at this time I need to see the enabling act. How do we know there is one?

Maybe it was just some phone call from Washington "decreeing" that you now had to collect stormwater "fees/taxes"or we won't pay you what we owe you on such and such.

Kinda like they do with the schools -- if you don't do it our way we won't send you any money.

Bob Bala