MARIETTA - County chairman Sam Olens believes the Cobb-Marietta Water Authority should bid out services performed by its bond advisor and counsel.

On Tuesday, the Water Authority board, of which Olens is a member, voted to refinance a 20-year bond originally issued in 2002 for $79 million to pay for such things as compliance with federal regulations and aging infrastructure, said Glenn Page, the Authority's general manager.

The board voted to reissue $41.3 million in new fixed rate revenue bonds in a vote of 6-0, with members Earl Smith, Olens, Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon, Don Mabry, Paulding County Chairman David Austin and Marietta City Councilman Van Pearlberg voting in favor.

The Authority is expected to save more than $3 million over the next 12 years by refinancing the bonds. Its bond underwriter, Gordon Mortin, and bond attorney Earle Taylor, of McKenna, Long & Aldridge, are charging the Authority an "issuance cost" of $500,000 to refinance the bonds.

Page said he didn't believe those services were bid out in the past.

"I know there wasn't (a request for proposal) on this issue, and I don't believe there was one in 2002," he said.

However, Page said, "We're not required to. That is a board decision."

Mortin has served as the Authority's bond advisor since 1971, while Taylor was served as bond counsel on four bonds since 1987, Page said.

Mortin shared with the Journal, during a break in the meeting, the valuable institutional knowledge he holds by serving as bond advisor for so many years. Moreover, one of his young associates, Tom Owens, asked if the services of one's family doctor are bid out - implying that an RFP is not appropriate for some services.

But Olens said it's a matter of transparency and accountability.

"Government works for its citizens, not the other way around. We have a fiduciary duty to our taxpayers/ratepayers," Olens said.

Pearlberg said he supports Olens' belief in shopping around for such services.

Bacon said he also is not opposed to looking for other people to handle those services.

But at the same time, "I don't want somebody's personal grudge getting in the way," he said. "This goes back to Sam's issue with the city of Kennesaw. I try to keep things separate. I don't have an axe to grind with Gordon Mortin. He's been good for the city of Smyrna."

Bacon is referring to how Mortin and Taylor angered Olens by helping the city of Kennesaw divert millions in county commission and Cobb school board taxes through (payment in lieu of taxes) bonds to subsidize a development at the intersection of Cobb Parkway and Kennesaw Due West Road.

The city of Kennesaw conducted the proposal in secret without alerting the school board and county government about it and without asking permission. The move prompted state Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) to author legislation earlier this year outlawing Kennesaw or any other city from making such a deal again without approval from all governments impacted.

Olens denied Bacon's comment that it is a personal issue.

"This is not a personal issue. It is a professional issue. I voted for the Water Authority bond," he said.

As the second largest water provider in the state, the Authority obtains its water from Lake Allatoona and the Chattahoochee River basins.

Created by an act of the General Assembly in 1951 to provide wholesale drinking water to the region, the Authority has 11 customers serving 800,000 people, Page said.

Cobb County buys 65 percent of the water, Marietta 10 percent and Smyrna about 5 percent. The Authority is governed by a seven-member board composed of the chairs of Cobb and Paulding commissions; appointees from the cities of Marietta and Smyrna; and three appointments by the Cobb Legislative Delegation.