THE PEOPLE WAS NOT ARRESTED FOR NOT PAYING THEIR BILL, IT WAS FOR COMTEMPT OF COURT

OK - let me say this - maybe if you paid your water and garbage bill in the first place this might not have happened. You dont pay your bills, you should get fined. I dont get my water and garbage pick up for free. If someone that did pay theirs, got arrested, well thats a real shame, but you know if they had paid their stuff when it was due, that would have never happened. I am sorry, but its really kinda cut and dry - just pay your bills

I agree that people should pay there bills and I understand that the arrests were for contempt of court, however, you both are completely missing the point. The reason the warrants were issued was because of failure of the individual to pay their bill. This effectively makes the HCSD a bill collector (and I am not beating up on the SD here).

I am not saying that there shouldn’t be penalties for failure to pay a bill, though it would normally just be reported to a credit agency or service would be terminated or some fee would be tacked on.

The other issue here is the folks who paid their bill but were still arrested and now have a record because they were arrested and booked.

It just seems ridiculous to waste effort on this.

Let me clear up a few things. First of all, I was made aware of this situation 24 hours ago, (not 2 days ago as Jason states) when I looked at my email yesterday morning. It was a rather cryptic one-sentence email (from someone other than Jason) saying something “weird” was going on in Stockbridge with garbage bills. I requested specifics and got no response. I called the city and asked what was going on. (I’m sure there are many who would suppose that I would know, however, this councilwoman was not advised of the City’s plan. I do not know if any other council member or the mayor were advised or consulted.) That will not surprise anyone familiar with the city, either. I learned from a second email more specifics and in a conversation with that individual learned that Jason was the source of that individual’s information. I did not “brush” this aside. I specifically asked Jason to give me specifics so I could look into them to ascertain the facts. In fact, Jason brushed my request aside.

Jason’s headline is a bit misleading. John correctly states that the warrants are for contempt of court for not showing up in court as required after repeated notices. Same thing can happen if you fail to show up for a traffic ticket. And Dee correctly states that if these people had paid their bills, they wouldn’t be in the situation in which they find themselves. A specific policy was followed with repeated notifications and attendant warnings. They ignored them and are now suffering the consequences of that decision.

That said, it is entirely possible that something may have slipped through the cracks and if an individual has documentation (receipts with dates et cetera) then there is certainly grounds for an appeal and recourse as appropriate.

The City Council approved a new collection agency at the last meeting. The previous one had not been performing satisfactorily for some time. Should that have been addressed sooner, probably.

Kathy Gilbert,
Councilwoman
City of Stockbridge

Well somebody has to pay for the Taj Mahal that Stockbridge is building....we all know that government no longer is to serve folks and help those who need help. Government is about tax,tax,tax to serve those in government.
As for Stockbridge and its governing bodies..... Is it any wonder the south side of Atlanta espically Henry County and Clayton County are viewed by the other governments in the area as Jed Clampet & The Beverly Hillbilly's?..Of course Clayton County seems to have come to its senses to some degree we will have to wait and see.....But Henry County .....We have Auntie Bee but we ain't Mayberry......
By the way do you think Stockbridge would have been able to pay the asking price for the flower shop with the money they spent on building the wall that seperates the properties?
If I owned the flower shop I think I would have the art class at Stockbridge Elementary come over and paint the entire building lavender and green and orange as my contribution to the revival of and beautification of the "downtown"area of Stockbridge.
Don

I am sorry Jason - this is one time that we disagree. Its their own fault. IF they had paid their bill THEN they wouldnt have been summoned to Court and none of this would have ever happened. One of the sherrif job is to serve arrest warrants no matter what they are for - they dont care what they are serving them for - thats all part of their job - ultimately - its the non payers fault and maybe the city of stockbridge is trying to prove a point - pay your bill or else - if nonone is paying their bills then who pays the garbage man thats picking the stuff up. Those non payers need to take responsibility for their own actions - I bet they wont not pay them again

Also, in defense of Kathy Gilbert, I actually sent her an email and she called me personally and she wasnt really sure what had gone on but she was trying to find out - and I beleive that she was telling the truth. She and I have had differences in the past - but I beleive her on this one.

Now that's a unique solution to the county's view on something "slipping" thru the crack. Have the individual who has complied with an order prove that they did.
Maybe they could even have the same HCSD deputy who first served the warrant return to that residence to verify the bill was indeed paid. I mean after all in todays economic downturn the gas for a private citizen to take off work and call the bank get a copy of the check drive to where ever the city wants them to go to bring the documentation only to be told "no that's at another location" but then the citizen should have double checked to make sure their compliance was properly posted in the first place.By the way wasn't there a garbage pickup scandal in Stockbridge a while back?
Don
PS
maybe they could find a couple of rooms in the basement of the "Taj"to use as a gulag maybe a debtors prison on the back part of the parking lot.

Jason
where would the city put all these "criminals" and violators of the law if none
of them had the resources on hand to comply with the demand to pay ?
I am now beginning to see the need for the jail expansion,and of course the juvenile detention center would be needed to house the dependents of those who are incarcerated due no parental supervision.
I wonder how many folks in Stockbridge could have been helped with the funds the city spends on the side walk to nowhere. The one that has the park benches that are about three feet from the traffic lane on 138....I know that would be a relaxing place to sit and have lunch....
Don

What I see here is a complete lack of due process, contempt for people who may be suffering through a tough economic period and a council member who need to be replaced.

This is a misuse of government power. The private sector can't do this, why should government have this power.

Don, you are absolutely right to call it a debtors prison. We don't live in a feudal system.

Since when do we have debtor's prison. If someone does not pay a bill, you turn off their services and sue to collect. In fact, a magistrate judge will not issue a warrant for a person who gives a bad check for a water bill becuase it was not deleivered contemporaneously for the service. Arresting people for a debt is wrong and unlawful.

Jason
The government has this power because 91% of the folks who could put this kind of arrogance,abusive power and frankly stupidity out of office did not take the time nor effort to remove those in office who's purpose is to grow government thus control the citizens and their resources.
Unfortunately those of us who are passionate and honestly care about the future of our cities,counties and nation
have to pay the same price they pay.
That coupled with the mentality that is very pervasive in Henry County governments is a recipe for the disaster we are now experiencing .
I have said many times before and standby the statement that government is no longer by for and of the people it has morphed into a government OVER the people that obviously 91% of Henry County residents are happy with.
Back in the USSR
Don Henderson

Scott
Debtors prison was meant as an ideology of government attitude not an actual institution.
And you are in a debtors prison it's just you get paroled each April 15th if you can afford it.
Don Henderson

According to the paper this process was initiated several weeks ago by city officials. I believe people should pay their bills but there are definitely other ways to handle this situation.

When I first read this I got mad. Then I thought about it and I got furious!!
This is nothing more thatn Stockbridge's version of debtors prison. That is one thing we escaped from in England. They are playing a game making you go to court knowing you may not be able to pay the fine. Then they put you in jail. In England it was used to get the government more money and to get rid of the unwanted. I wonder which one Stockbridge is doing. It appears that Stockbridge has learned well from the Mathis/Nash Farm debachery. If you need something or money just take it. I am very concerned about a city council person that can not keep track of what is going on in the city. That raises a serious question of her ability to be council person. But she was busy with the Mathis campaign. The city is taking advantage of the hard economic times it's citizens are in for it's benefit. That is nothing more than greed.

Dark Knight

Dark Knight
I think this just may be an issue that will finally awaken folks to the fact that we are in deep trouble with government.
Of course folks have to pay their bills and governments can not provide product services without charge. That said when it comes to the survival of the citizen or survival of government the government will sacrifice the individual every time.
The government cannot allow this type of lawlessness to go unpunished as it would only encourage resistance to other actions such as eminent domain,
property tax increases,wasteful spending,giving pay raises with our tax money to those who have done their bidding.
Greed? No the government has no need to be greedy because if they have an unfunded desire, I purposely said desire not need, all they do is fund it with a deficit or user tax then raise our tax to pay the cost.
It is all about control ...with out control and the ability to instill fear into the citizen the government then becomes the servant instead of the served.
Don't think the city of Stockbridge couldn't absorb the cost of 35 delinquent water/sewer accounts ...look at the Taj Mahal
....What they can't afford is to have 35 citizens stand up to their moronic policies ...I wonder how many of the non payers are seniors?
Again it's about making sure nobody gets out of line and making sure everyone knows who the boss is....
Don
ps
It's scary what 400 votes can do ain't it.

Don, you are correct my friend. If people would exercise their right to vote then changes can be seen. As it is the government has placed fear in the lives of the citizens at a time when they are wondering how they are going to survive. Not everyone in this area has money invested because it takes everything they make to try and survive and in a lot of case's they are not.
We the people have become we the suffering. Taxes coming from land reassessments, school tax hikes, and the tax that is hidden in what we buy. The government wants their money but if the poor do not have it then they are subjected to more harm. There is an old saying you can take the person but you must feed it. Take a good look at today's paper and the 32 pages of homes being lost here. Not all these people are deadbeats. There are good people out there who are hurting. Keep up the good work sir.
The Doctor

Mr. Henderson, you are right sir. Pandora's box was opened a long time ago.
The government will do any thing to save it's self in this case they arrogantly see that their needs out way the needs of the taxpayers. In this sense we the people are no longer we the people of government, we are no more than kibble for the government to chow down on.

Dark Knight

It is absurd that the government can take people to jail for not paying their sanitation bill or their water bill. Most of these people paid their bills and still were hauled off to jail.

You can say it was for not appearing in court but it is still ridiculous that they were taken to jail over it.

In for a penny - and here is my two-cents worth.

There are many ways to collect a debt. But we must ask, "What cost am I willing to bear to collect?" Is the amount of debt greater than my cost?

Also, we are talking about a "public" utility. That means Water, Electricity, Garbage... When a bill is past due you get a notice or two, then the service is cut off. You cannot get new service before the old bill is paid. That is true for Ma Bell, Southern Company, et. al.

When a debt is owed for real property there are other avenues, but I digress.

The City issued warrants through the SD. The people ignored the warrants. A judge issued bench warrants for contempt. Here the plot thickens!

Some people are nudged into paying debts when a SD deputy arrives at the door. Some really take notice when a judge sends the deputy out again.

Some people did not have the money to pay the bill and may have feared the court would add on fees, court costs, etc.

Whatever the reasoning, the bill should have been paid. You use the service, you pay the bill.

Now, about the City using the police power of government. Stockbridge has a long history of legal wrangling and maneuvering to force citizens to bow. THAT is my complaint with the issue.

Due process that anyone normally receives regarding an unpaid debt was side-stepped. Jump immediately to warrants, contempt charges and fines. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200... go directly to Jail.

The City had the option of simply denying service. They had the option of fi fa, a lien. Because a fi fa indicates a late payment or non-payment of a bill, it will be reported to the reprting atgencies and affect the credit standing. If a fi fa has been recorded in the Clerk's office, it is marked "Cancelled and Satisfied" when the bill (including accrued late fees) is paid, but it is still left on the books as a matter of public record.

Geez Louise, isn't that what they pay Buddy for?

The Stockbridge Mafia has operated this business model for 20+ years. Arresting citizens and assigning jail time when other methods exist is par for their course.

Why not disconnect water meter until bill is paid and charge the violator with a reconnect fee, simple

This is a perfect example of why you minimize government. Every one of these services could be provided more cheaply and with better customer service if handled by a private company, and they wouldn't need the Sheriff's Department and Courts to enforce their debt collections.

Dutch, of course you are correct. But such services are bread and butter to government income. It is why cities go crazy with annexations. They have a captive consumer base!

This is not about collecting money; this is about exercising power. The city has utter contempt for its citizens, as shown here and in eminent domain proceedings.

Unfortunately this thought process permeates through all levels of government.

Government is corrupt and we allowed it...
ever hear of a recall petition?
Don Henderson

Dear City of Stockbridge,

I strongly suggest that you throw your full support to Major McBrayer. I would never serve one of those warrants. Turn off the services for non-payment. If they turn it back on illegally, then that is a crime. I will not run a debtor’s jail. I would sit in my own jail before even 1 of those warrants went served. I’ll be a lone campaigning in front of City Hall, Saturday noon to 2 p.m. I wonder when GA
Power will get to use taxpayer dollars to collect debt and throw people in jail. Right now, GA Power has a program to work with struggling families. Anyone that does not have to struggle to pay your energy bills, I applaud you for your life choices that determined prosperity. I hope that our Seniors on a fixed income planned well and remain healthy or you will wind up in jail, but with completely free health care provided by Henry County tax payers. Contempt of Court my arse. This should be a default civil judgment. Leave it to government and government puppets to move beyond just being able to jail you for non-payment of income taxes.

I am the one who sent the "cryptic" email to Kathy. In her defense, I have gathered from our conversation that she honestly didn't know this was going on before 2 days ago.

And Joe, as wrong as Stockbridge is, a sheriff who selectively performs his job is not the Sheriff we need, see Vic Hill. I understand your point, but the sheriff must serve the warrant.

The City of Stockbridge operates under a “strong mayor” form of government, which means that the mayor as chief executive has wide ranging administrative power, including the authority to delegate that power to an administrator who can then pretty much do as he pleases. The council does not have to be consulted on administrative decisions. (See the city charter at www.cityofstockbridge.com). As a result, the council has little if any impact on the day-to-day operations of the city. It eliminates the possibility of micro-management, which can be a very bad thing. It also effectively neuters any counterbalancing effect the council should have. With the right people, this form of governance works well in many cities in Georgia. If the mayor is actively involved, and affords the common courtesy of informing his fellow elected officials of his plans and seeks their counsel and sees them as members of a team, it will and does work. You may draw your own conclusions as to the situation in Stockbridge

As for the current situation, Mr. Welch, city attorney has suspended further action. The city is entitled to collect its funds. People should pay their bills. The accounts were long standing delinquents. There should have been a procedure that cleared the citation when the bill was paid, and if the city chose to impose a surcharge of some sort as a result of the increased cost to collect, that is reasonable. Clearly the process was flawed……….

Some on this site have seen fit to pillory me for not doing more to effect change. I am one vote.

Kathy Gilbert
Councilwoman
City of Stockbridge

We "pillory" you because you are no better than the rest of the fools on the city council.

You have been nothing short of a disappointment and I deeply regret ever helping you out.

What a waste.

Does the HCSO charge Stockbridge to serve the warrant thus the city incurred additional expense to collect the delinquent bills thus entitling the city to collect a surcharge or as we the citizens would call an extortion charge? I really don't know as I have never had to have a warrant served.
And just as an observation I would think that maybe Ms Gilbert may want to consult with Auntie Bee about future employment as the voters in Stockbridge would probably appreciate someone with "micro management" skills to be watching out for their interest. She could have no better mentor or teacher on how to micro manage.
Ms Gilbert was elected to serve the citizens of Stockbridge and if someone is stopping her from doing that then she she needs to step down or go to war.
Don Henderson

Joshua,

Wrong is wrong, and to associate my reaction to Sheriff Hill’s is even worse.
NO the Sheriff does not have to serve those warrants. First come first serve. Why don’t you ask a Deputy, besides the one you support for Sheriff, if it would have been possible to serve other warrants first. Then ask your choice for Sheriff, if Sheriff Chaffin ever called a Judge and told them to not even bother to issue any VOP warrants because the jail is overcrowded and they will not be served. Declare a state of emergency reference the jail population and that you only have room for criminals. You can have the last word and continue to support the one that will keep those other politicians happy. You can count on the fact that there will never be a debate between the two of us. All you will ever hear is the white people being told that I’m a member of the NAACP and the non-whites being told that they will have a piece of the pie, plus those 32 years of Henry County Service. I really like your guy, but the methods used by his supporters to defend him are laughable. I will gladly take my loss in the November election, but I will not sugar coat the issues.

Jason,

Thanks for bringing this issue to light. Obviously, Stockbridge was reigned in because of the reporting done by this site, news daily, and Fox 5. It is nice to see that outside of the 10 or so arrest they have suspended this idiotic abuse of power.

I mean if people didn't watch Stockbridge you would think this was a city in Venezuela.

And to those that easily say "if the bill was paid this wouldn't have happened". Check the facts about the people arrested. Most, if not all of them, paid the bill before their court date. Then they were told by the stockbridge clerk that everything was okay and they did not need to show up to court (just like a traffic citation that is paid before the court date).

Then the miscommunication/ abuse by the judge who decided to issue the warrants. If the blame falls on the judge (which he is paid by the city; so I am sure there was some influence) then the judge needs to go. I mean get some discernment!!

Also, there were a few arrested because they didn't pay 2 months of the garbage bill. For those that don't know that is 18 dollars. That could easily be overlooked; so to label them as deadbeats....what load of crap. Again they paid before the court date and they were told everything is okay. But then they were still arrested for an 18 dollar bill. Can you say mafia strong arm tactics. Did I hear someone say "well I bet they won't do that again". I am sure people that live under Communist rule were taught similar lessons too!! Let's just trample on everyone's rights. What Stockbridge needs to worry about is local attorneys jumping on this thing; I am sure some rights have been violated.

I heard someone else write that they should not get service free. I agree; cut off the service, send the late notices, turn them to a collection agency, etc. I am sure that every service company in the nation whishes that they had the abusive capabilities that Stockbridge excersises. If Charter Cable could only get there hands on that Power; they could have so many people locked up for not paying their cable bill. Then maybe there wouldn't have to be so much paid programming on. I am tired of the "flowbie" like commercials.

Something needs to change in Stockbridge; they are such an embarrasement to this county. If only we could excomunicate them. I am sure that they would enjoy being their own country. It probably pains them to say the pledge of alliegance to the US flag.

The only saving grace in Stockbridge is that the "leaders" (and I use that loosely) are not...lets just say spring chickens anymore. So hopefully with a little more time and a few more elections cycles we will see some new blood in.

I noticed that the Stockbridge City Council person said that they are not asked or have no say in many of the matters that come into play. Well, why do they need the city council?
Dark Knight

Stockbridge has found a new way to bring unwanted attention to the area. Use strong arm tactics to get payment of a bill that could be handled very differently. There have been many instances where Stockbridge has gotten attention in this way. The garbage scandal hit the news a few years ago. The eminent domain case was all over the world news. Now the water bill fiasco. Hopefully when elections are held again in the city major changes will come. But if the last election is any indication with the turn out the status quo will carry on.

Mr. Eckler,

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you as one McBrayer supporter that I have never told anyone you were a member of the NAACP. Except for some inbred, Confederate flag waving rednecks, I doubt that any white person is going to care one way or another.

What I tell people is that you don't seem to know what a Sheriff does. All I do is repeat some of the nonsense I've read from you own website. From the beginning, your platform was centered around controlling development, something that has nothing to do with the office of Sheriff. And now you think you're going to control the Courts by deciding which warrants you're going to execute and which ones you aren't. That's baloney. If the Sheriff starts refusing to do his job as specified by the Courts, he can be held in contempt just like anyone else and end up sitting in his own jail. The only reason you're getting the comparisons to Sheriff Hill is because you're starting to sound like him - an ultimate authority who can do whatever he wants.

Dutch if you don’t get it then don’t. There goes the Victor thing again.

The sad thing is, a credible Democratic candidate for sheriff could have a somewhat decent chance riding Obama's coattails. If you took the job seriously and focused on relevant issues, you might garner over 40% of the vote.

I don't think you need to be credible to be a Democratic candidate, but you probably should keep your mouth shut when you don't know what you're talking about.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

As I was driving past the Stockbridge "Taj Mahal" yesterday I couldn't help but think of Boss Hog and Jed Clampet.
Stockbridge has a ,for lack of a better word, "leadership" that reminds me of Boss and Jed wrapped into one.
Boss would do whatever it took to get money then spend it stupidly and Jed had all kinds of money and didn't know how to spend it.
Where is the cement pond?
Don

Let me see if I have this correct. The Sheriff's Department has 5000 unserved criminal warrants, "ON FILE" but has the time and manpower to arrest citizens for non payment of water bills.

Whitehouse
You do understand that this is about money and control of citizens attitude toward government don't you .
Most of those criminal warrants will not bring in revenue and most of these civil dissidents will answer the door when the warrant is being served.
Government can not allow such open an blatant rebellion by its citizens. If Stockbridge allowed such criminal activity such as this to go unpunished the first thing you know drugs,gang activity,burglary and other such activity will surely follow.
As Barney Fife so forcefully said we must "nip it ,nip it in the bud" remember we only have so many officers and we must use them where they will most benefit society......
Don

Don my friend, I believe the Stockbridge version of the cement pond will be across the street where a house that is on the Historic Regsitry being the Walden-Turner Home was torn down. This made an obstruction to the view of the new Taj Mahal.

It has not been mentioned that the City of Stockbridge subsidizes close to 2 mil out of there general fund to pay for garbage. Maybe that was the reason they need the hefty fines, jail time, etc. to help cover for the shortfall in revenue for the poorly managed garbage service

Doc
You know that bunch that say they are the public servants of the Stockbridge citizens even make Boss Hogg and Jed Clampett look good. At least Boss Hogg dressed well and Jed was honest.
I don't think you can say either of those things about that bunch that run city hall.
I was at one of the meetings when they were trying to steal the flower shop and
funny thing about that meeting. The attorney for the flower shop started asking the council members about the amounts of money each of them were making off the "Taj Mahal" property ,he of course knew as it was a matter of public record if you knew where to look and when he ask the mayor about how much he made the mayor jumped up and said "we aren't going to sit here and listen to these kinds of accusations" slammed the gavel down and the entire counsel ran out the back door. It was like a bunch of kids who had just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Don

Don, it shows that follow the money has a place in these peoples lives. It sounds like the attorney for the flower shop struck a nerve. If they had nothing to hide why run.
And you know ole Boss Hogg did dress well and Jed was an honest soul lost in a world where greed was the norm in Beverly Hills.

Don, did you read the paper for Saturday about the Atlanta-Griffin rail line. About some decisions made in July. Read the piece my friend. It is interesting.

I will never get it: It is up to the news media to expose wrong doers in government. It is up to the Sheriff’s Department to be the puppet of those wrong doers and not to protect people from out of control government.

I am one of the people who were forced to go to jail. I do admit fault for not keeping up with my bill but I should not have been booked into jail at 10:00 and spend about 4 hours in the holding cell before I could bail myself out at the cost of $613. I received one notice about a month and a half ago and I immediately paid the bill in full the next day. I contacted the city and asked if I still had to appear in court after I had cleared the amount owed. The clerk said that I wouldn't have to show up. Next thing I know, here comes the Sheriff about to knock a hole in my door. I told him what the clerk had told me and he went on to tell me that just about everyone he had talked to had told a similar story. Now I hate generalizations but you get my point.

I would have willing gone to court if the clerks answer would have been yes but the lack of communication inside the city has caused a huge mess.

KC
in Stockbridge it isn't a lack of communication that caused this problem it is a total lack of compassion and a lack of concern as to why so many folks were having trouble paying their bills.
To the government you are a deadbeat and just because you have financial problems that is not their concern. You need to understand that even tho you have cash flow problems you can not allow that the cause the city to have those kinds of problems too. They have many posies ,pansies,shrubs and flowers to plant and prune and those items are not free. Somebody has to pay Lowes for that stuff and how dare you think your comforts such as water are more important than the needs of the government.
You can be thankful for many things in this life but mainly at this junction of your life be thankful you ain't the hockey puck Strickland is or at least appears to be.
Would somebody figure out how much it cost the city and county to collect these bills given all the salaries paid to those who had to prepare the paper work, the gas,wear and tear on the HCPD patrol cars, the officers salaries who could by the way have been serving warrants on real criminals,and the just the processing expense to collect what 70 or 80 bucks?
I'll bet there is not one valedictorian on the entire city counsel. Are there even any high school grads there?
Don

Don,

Well, I thank you for YOUR compassion. I am not sure what the case is for all of the others involved but I can assure you that these aren't toubling times for me. I have the money to keep up with this tiny bill but it seems like it is the only one that doesn't come to me via email. This tends to get me in trouble with this bill because I dread checking my overpopulated -with - junk mailbox. You are right in your post though but not exactly for my case. I will readily admit my irresponsibiliy here but this should have never gone as far as it did. I am glad they have stopped issuing warrants for people but what about the few that got screwed?

KC
it matters not if you have the money to pay or you don't. The point is that these idiots that call themselves public servants do not know how to serve. They are arrogant and unable to think thru a problem to a logical and best solution.
That you are irresponsible is not how I would describe your failure to pay on time as that would indicate purposeful intent. I would say that neglect would be a more descriptive term in your case and that is not a good reason for Stockbridge to waste MY money sending deputies to do their collection work for them.

Wow. Lots of conversation here - Dutch is doing a pretty good job of selling me on Joe Mack! So to the topic, my question is this: I live just outside Stockbridge in unincorporated Henry County. If I'm late paying my water bill (I assume) they'll turn my water off, and charge me a fee to restart the service. If I fail to pay my garbage pick-up, they stop showing up to pick up the garbage (I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I know this first-hand!). My question is, what is wrong with that? It's the same HCWSA that the good people of Stockbridge are forced to use, how come they operate differently in the city? Could it be because the city has foolishly made guarantees to the service providers? My point is this: every business that is not based on "cash and carry" transactions has to face the possibility of invoices not being paid - usually, some % of deadbeats and some allotment for collections costs is part of the price of the service, and that's how it should be - after all, the risk of not getting paid is the price of having the revenue opportunity in the first place. I guess the saddest part of all is all the people who have totally missed the point -- "people ought to pay their bills" is not what is at issue here, the issue is, at what point is government overreaching its mandate and acting in an abusive manner toward its citizens? In my book, the Stockbridge city government has crossed the line. Who's up for a good-old-fashioned protest??

Troy
of the 50 plus comments on this topic only 5 seem to have the "its their fault and they are getting just what they deserve" attitude. About the same percentage that voted in the election for SPLOST and the same percentage that voted in the primary election...
A good old fashioned protest will not change the morons who run Stockbridge as I have witnessed first hand how they deal with a disgruntled public. They adjourn the meeting and go out the back door. They have the law on their side and their ethics are non existent so it would be an effort in futility.
What they would understand is for everyone in their jurisdiction to fail to pay their water/sewer/garbage bill and when they start with the arresting of folks for nobody to post bail and insist on being incarcerated of course you need to have the news media present to document this insanity it would not be to difficult to have the morons committed to an institution.
Honestly Troy it is a small percentage who have not grasped that this is a governing body of people who have no business having any authority what so ever because it is evident from their rational that they are incapable of intelligent decision making.
Don Henderson

This is completely stupid, at a time when poeple are losing their jobs and can barely afford to buy gas to go to work when they do have a job. who can barely buy food to feed their kids , the total insensitivity of that government in stockbridge ga. it infuriating. Stupid , misuse of taxpayers dollars. all of the officials in that city should be ousted ,and the citizens of that city should remember to vote to oust everyone from the sherriffs office who issued the warant , to the court official who presided over the hearings. VOTE THEM OUT!