Service Agreement mediation held last week between Cobb County and Cobb Cities

With a critical deadline approaching, Cobb County and six of its seven cities spent two days last week mediating new Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) agreements. SDS agreements outline the services the county and each city provide to citizens.

Previously, the parties would set a dollar amount that the county owed the cities for those services. However, this year, Chair Lisa Cupid changed this practice, insisting that the county owed the cities zero dollars. This led to strong pushback from the Mayors of Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Marietta, Powder Springs, and Smyrna. United, they threatened legal action against the county, resulting in the two-day mediation. The City of Mableton did not participate in the mediation because it is a new city within Cobb County, and not part of the current SDS discussion.

During the private mediation sessions held at the Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel & Conference Center on Thursday and Friday, lawyers for each side presented their cases. Although no information was shared from the private meetings, Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin indicated the need to see an agreement in writing, emphasizing that all six cities must be in unanimous agreement for any tentative deal to proceed.

SDS agreements, required every 10 years and subject to approval by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, are crucial. Without a deal, all parties could face state sanctions that might threaten funding for public safety, housing, parks and recreation, and permits for road improvements, water and sewer systems, and community development projects.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is poised to review the agreements once reached. Cobb County and the cities have until the end of August to finalize the agreement and submit it for review, which is expected to conclude by October 31.