AUGUSTA,Ga— from www.wrdw.com – Former Augusta commissioner Marion Williams is sounding off on the city’s legal battle with X-Mart.

“The commission has got to be smarter. The mayor has got to be smarter,” said former Augusta commissioner Marion Williams. “Fight those fights that we can win and not those we can’t win.”

News 12 is working to confirm reports that Augusta could be forced to pay up to $131,000 in lost revenue to X-Mart. You might recall the city said X-Mart was too close to a city gateway.

The 11th circuit court of appeals ruled back in October that the city could not use alleged zoning restrictions to keep the store from opening. A familiar face says he tried to sound the alarm years ago.

“We can’t sit here as elected officials and vote on things because we don’t agree with them,” said former Augusta commissioner Marion Williams. “We gotta go by what the law says, and now we’re paying the price. The city is losing money. We are paying attorneys year after year to fight a case that we know we were not going to win.”