DeKalb PWI backs 10% annual water-sewer rate plan; customer protections separated for board action

The DeKalb County Public Works and Infrastructure Committee voted to recommend a 10% annual water and sewer rate increase for 10 years, and advanced a separate, amended consumer-protections resolution for final consideration by the board.

The committee’s discussion, led by Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams and Director Hayes of the Department of Watershed Management, centered on funding a multi-year capital improvement program required to address aging pipes, consent-decree obligations and long-term system reliability. Williams said the administration’s analysis shows a 10-year funding horizon provides steady, predictable capital and attracts contractors for multi-year projects: “The capital improvement plan of 10 years, commensurate with funding of 10 years, will allow us…and will allow the public to understand that this is what we are looking to achieve,” he said.

Committee members raised competing concerns about scale, borrowing and implementation. Commissioner Jakaira Johnson said the longer plan helps South DeKalb projects and protects the county from a court-imposed rate if funds prove insufficient. Commissioner Nicole Masai urged caution about borrowing more than necessary and emphasized the county’s past issues delivering projects as budgeted. Commissioner Ted Terry and Commissioner Davis Johnson stressed the system’s age and the link between upgraded infrastructure and economic development; Terry called heavy root infiltration and ongoing maintenance “a sign of an aging sewer system.”

The committee separated the policy protections from the rate vote. The protections package — which committee members described as measures including an Office of Water Customer Advocacy, an affordability and hardship component, and additional cut-off protections — was approved after a motion to reconsider and amendment to add explicit hardship language and a condition tying protections to any adopted rate increase. The protections item was approved on reconsideration 3–0 with the amendment.

The clean rate item (a straight resolution to raise rates 10% annually for 10 years to fund operations, debt service and the 2025–2034 capital improvement program) was then recommended by the committee and will appear on the full-board calendar. Committee members and staff emphasized that even with the 10x10 plan the county will still rely heavily on borrowing (WIFIA, bonds and other loans) and developer contributions to cover the full $4.3 billion program cited by staff.

The committee asked legal staff to publish the protections as a standalone agenda item for the full board (so the protections can be voted on prior to any rate measure), and directed staff to continue outreach to community groups such as DeKalb Water Watch. Williams said he had received an endorsement letter from the Water Watch Coalition and that the administration wants to preserve oversight and transparency in spending.

The committee’s discussion included requests for additional clarifying materials: where existing bond proceeds remain, how contingency is built into project estimates (staff said approximately 10%), and more detail on how the capital plan and projected developer-paid capacity agreements interact with the CIP. Staff also said two projects must begin solicitation this year to remain on schedule with consent-decree milestones, and that shortfalls grow the longer a vote is delayed.

What’s next: The protections resolution will be placed on the full-board agenda as a separate substitute item that legal will finalize. The rate resolution (10% for 10 years) will follow; the committee recommended both items to the Board of Commissioners for Tuesday’s meeting.