A resolution to the standoff between members of South Fulton Municipal Regional Water & Sewer Authority came to an end Tuesday as representatives of Palmetto and Union City agreed to refinance the authority’s $41.7 million bond and use the savings to pay down the principal and interest.

Union City and Palmetto for months had proposed that funds from the refinancing be used for new projects. Fairburn City Council disagreed. The disagreement lead to a standoff that began in the spring, with Fairburn insisting that the savings would be better served if used to pay down the debt service that comes due later this month. Any hopes Union City and Palmetto had that Fairburn would come around to their way of thinking were dashed at the June 19 meeting. The Fairburn council voted unanimously to hold fast on their previous position.

“I believe we are right. I think we’re right not the buy more property, but to pay off the debt. So we’re at a standoff,” said Mayor Betty Hannah in a clear reference to one of the issues surfaced by Fairburn at recent authority meeting, the expenditure of more than $9 million in bond funds, including property purchases, without obtaining any of the permits required to build the reservoir, water treatment plant and install water lines to the three cities.

Union City this month will begin to repay $95,000 per month on the bond indebtedness, while Fairburn will repay $67,000 per month and Palmetto will repay $21,000. Applying the savings from refinancing those debts would reduce Fairburn’s monthly payment by approximately $10,000.

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