DeKalb officials propose 10% annual water-rate increase for 10 years, add customer-advocate office and affordability protections

DeKalb County officials outlined a plan to increase water and sewer rates by 10% a year for 10 years to fund work tied to the county's consent decree and long-standing water system needs.

County staff described the "10 by 10" plan as intended to provide predictable funding for contractors, improve the county's bond rating and cover capital improvements including upgrades at the Scott Candler water treatment plant, replacement of aging transmission mains and new trunk sewers. A staff presenter said the sewer work alone would require funds for trunk sewers "currently estimated at a cost of over $450,000,000 a year." The presenter concluded, "Our proposal of implementing a 10 by 10 rate increase makes sense for all of those reasons." (Attributed in transcript to an administration presenter.)

Why it matters: The county is under a consent decree that requires major sewer-system repairs and monitoring. Officials said delaying investment has increased the scale and cost of required projects; predictable revenue could also help secure additional state and federal funding and support a 10-year capital improvement plan.

Board discussion and next steps

Commissioners and staff discussed how to implement affordability measures alongside any rate change. Several commissioners urged that protections for seniors, disabled residents and low-income households be written into the rate resolution rather than left as a separate document. Commissioner Long Spears introduced a separate resolution (identified in the record as relating to policy changes to protect seniors, disabled individuals and low-income residents) but said she would be comfortable folding that language into the main rate resolution.

Commissioner Terry and others proposed creating a county Office of Water Customer Advocacy to assist residents with billing appeals, investigation of customer issues, equity and accessibility, and oversight and continuous improvement measures such as audits and performance metrics. Commissioner Terry said the customer advocate idea came from "a member of the board, but the customer advocate," and that the county should include the role in the rate resolution'either as an appendix or added language in Section 1.

Town halls and public engagement

County staff said two public town halls were scheduled to continue outreach and transparency: one at Tucker Library and one at Porter Sanford, both starting at 6 p.m. The administration emphasized that public hearings and "open honest dialogue" are important to build public trust as the capital-improvement program moves forward.

Affordability measures and repair funding

Commissioners discussed several targeted programs staff proposed to lessen impacts on economically challenged customers, including discounts, limited amnesty programs and a repair program that pays for household plumbing repairs. Commissioner Terry said the repair program has relied on federal funds (CARES/ARP) that have declined, noting an initial $5,000,000 allocation that has fallen to about $500,000; he urged including funding for the repair program in the rate resolution.

Oversight and timing

Commissioner Dawn Davis Johnson said she is drafting a separate resolution to create an independent inspector general to oversee procurement, contracting and the use of large sums tied to the plan, and that she would share a draft with commissioners by the end of the week. She said the county would be asking constituents to shoulder increased costs and wants independent oversight "to ensure there will be no waste of money, no fraud." She stated a $4,500,000,000 figure in the discussion when describing the scale of expected spending over a multi-year program.

Committee process and schedule

Commissioners discussed logistics for moving the rate resolution through committee and board votes. Options included coupling the rate vote with bond authorization and sending debt questions to the Finance, Audit & Budget (FAB) committee; or holding a special called meeting to give commissioners more time to review proposed language. Administration staff said they could return revised documents at the next Board of Commissioners meeting but acknowledged many commissioners wanted additional time to review legal redlines.

What the board did and did not decide

The transcript records robust discussion and direction to staff to incorporate customer-advocate language and affordability protections into the main rate resolution, schedule additional public meetings and coordinate committee review. No final board vote on the 10% x 10-year rate was recorded in the transcript excerpt provided; commissioners discussed deferral, additional drafts and the potential to take votes at an upcoming meeting.

Ending note

Commissioners and staff repeatedly framed the matter as time-sensitive because of consent-decree deadlines and the county's capital plan, and they asked chiefs of staff to coordinate a special-called meeting so commissioners could consider revised language, bond timing and the affordability provisions.