Walthourville City Council voted Wednesday night to end the town’s unpopular fire fee and to discuss settling a potential class-action lawsuit filed by a water customer in Allenhurst.
The decision means that water customers in Walthourville and Allenhurst, which are served by the Walthourville Fire Department, will no longer be billed for the fire fee as of Thursday, Oct. 1. It’s unclear, however, how the decision will affect the city’s revised 2026 budget, which had projected $468,249.85 in General Fund revenues from the fire fee.
The vote came during a special called meeting that was scheduled to discuss the city’s accounting firm and after the council returned from executive session, a procedure where public bodies discuss contracts, legal issues and personnel matters.
The private discussions were both lengthy and, at times, loud, punctuated by gavel raps. At one point, Councilman Patrick Underwood stormed out for several minutes before returning to the closed session.
Among the topics of discussion were payroll tax arrears that the city allegedly owes, and that have gone unnoticed for years, according to Underwood.
The potential financial setbacks come during Walthourville’s first balanced budget in several years. The mayor and council, along with staff and their accountants, had struggled for months to get city finances back on track.
A check of state filings showed no active or pending state liens filed against the City of Walthourville. The Current was unable to reach Mayor Sarah B. Hayes or Moses for comment Wednesday night or Thursday morning to confirm whether any federal or state payroll taxes were in arrears.
The fee lawsuit, meanwhile, was filed on behalf of Allenhurst resident Steve Wright at 12:50 p.m. Wednesday.
The suit called the fire fee, which was billed to hundreds of customers on Walthourville’s water system, “an illegal tax,” and requests refund and interest under Georgia’s Refund Statute, plus attorney’s fees and costs.
Wright is represented by James L. Roberts IV of St. Simons and John B. Manly of Savannah. The court filing seeks to get status as a class action lawsuit.
The Current GA was unable to reach Wright, Roberts, or Manly by phone or e-mail Wednesday night.
When the public meeting reopened, the council voted for attorney Luke Moses to represent the city on this matter. The city authorized settlement payments on June 1, 2027, and December 31, 2027, of $200,000 each.
Immediately after the meeting, city officials said they didn’t recall the name of the person suing the city.
Also Wednesday, the city council voted to authorize the mayor and city attorney to enter a contract with accounting firm CKH, along with relevant city personnel.
After the meeting, Underwood told The Current that the city allegedly had failed to pay three years’ worth of payroll taxes, which he estimated at $1 million, due to an unspecified error. He said the topic was discussed during executive session. The amounts discussed could not be immediately confirmed.
Underwood did not state whether City Hall staff or the accounting firm were responsible for the alleged shortfalls, and expressed frustration that no one had noticed the error sooner. No elected officials explicitly mentioned payroll taxes during the public portion of Wednesday’s meeting.
