We want to know how you feel about the Service Delivery Strategy standoff between Lowndes County and the City of Valdosta. 

We have written about it extensively. 

The county has stated its positions repeatedly.

The city has done the same. 

We have called on both city and county leaders to negotiate in good faith and reach an agreement by Thanksgiving. 

They obviously are not going to do that. 

In fact, county government has appealed its latest loss in appellate court all the way to the state Supreme Court. 

We believe this is the single biggest issue facing our community right now and that the stalemate could very well be at the expense of industrial recruitment and economic development. Add to that equation the fact that legal fees for the county and city to battle this out in court will soon reach $1 million, and it is clear why the community is beyond frustrated and is now thoroughly irritated with decision makers on both sides. 

We have been told leaders in business and industry shy away from investing in our community because of the inability of city and county governments to work together toward positive outcomes and because the delivery of basic utilities remains at the epicenter of this standoff. 

We have written about this ad nauseam.

Now we want you to write about it. 

The Valdosta Daily Times Editorial Board spent its entire meeting this week debating, discussing, dissenting, agreeing and, after all was said and done, ended up about where we started, not really sure what to say or do. 

At first, the board mostly thought it was time for the county to drop its lawsuits and come back to the table and make concessions. 

Then, the thinking shifted a bit and many in the room started thinking this whole thing does need to go all the way to the state’s high court, perhaps even to test the veracity of the Service Delivery Act itself. Or, at the very least, test the argument that legacy SDS agreements stay in force through perpetuity unless new agreements are forged. 

The editorial board seemed to mostly agree that the City of Valdosta has made several concessions but is unyielding on its position regarding how and when it provides water and sewer service. The board also seemed to agree that while county leaders have talked a lot about getting along well with the city, that very few, if any, compromises had been offered on these issues. 

Suffice it say, the only thing everyone seemed to agree on is enough is enough and if the vast majority of cities and counties in the state of Georgia can reach Service Delivery Strategy agreements every 10 years, Lowndes and Valdosta should be able to do the same. 

The newspaper gets caught in the middle of this tug of war, all the time. City leaders get frustrated because we won’t just publish their statements on this exactly the way they send it. County leaders get frustrated if they think we have not fully explained their position or included every argument or statement.

We see our job as reporting, not parroting, and so we interview both sides, look for independent sources and provide reports that are not skewed by our relationships or familiarity with the parties involved. 

For the record, we are not pro city or pro county on this issue. We are for getting this thing done. Our overall position has been that we think both sides are trying to include too much in the agreement, should sign a very broad agreement and then, if need be, negotiate the details of water and sewer extension separately. 

Most people know our editorial board is rather large and certainly diverse. We have several community members, some who live within the city limits and some who live in unincorporated Lowndes. We have conservative thinkers, progressive thinkers and just about everything in between. Still, we remain frustrated because on our editorial pages we have offered suggestions, called for action and even called out the stubbornness and shortsightedness of elected officials. 

So, perhaps some of you have thoughts, suggestions, ideas and maybe even a solution. 

Please write to us. Send letters to the editor and guest columns related to the SDS stalemate. Better yet, show up at city and county meetings and share you insights, or even your frustrations, with the very people we elect to make these decisions.