Cusseta–Chattahoochee County files comprehensive plan update prioritizing sewer, water, broadband and downtown work program

The Unified Government of Cusseta–Chattahoochee County submitted an updated comprehensive plan to the River Valley Regional Commission and listed submission dates of Dec. 18, 2025. The update lays out community goals, needs and a five‑year work program that emphasizes water and sewer upgrades, broadband deployment and downtown revitalization.

The plan frames a vision for maintaining the county’s rural character while pursuing targeted residential, commercial and light industrial development that leverages proximity to Fort Benning and Columbus. County officials and plan drafters with the River Valley Regional Commission said the update separates data for the non–Fort Benning area (NFBA) to show local trends more clearly and to guide area‑specific interventions.

Key infrastructure priorities in the work program include planning and phased upgrades to the county water distribution system (budgeted phases listed at $100,000 in early work), engineering and grant applications for a Broad Street sewer update (cost estimate $1,000,000 with UGOCCC/CDBG/Grant funding listed), continued street and intersection improvements (combined work program items totaling several hundred thousand dollars) and construction of multi‑use trails and recreation investments (listed at $1,000,000). The work program assigns responsibilities to the Unified Government of Cusseta–Chattahoochee County (UGOCCC) and identifies potential funding sources including CDBG and GDOT for specific items.

Broadband deployment is a visible technical priority: the plan cites state and federal programs (the ACE Act/SB 402 and the Georgia Broadband Deployment Initiative) and reports 1,174 locations with fixed broadband as of June 2024, about 1,011 locations encumbered by grant commitments, and 118 remaining unserved locations. The document names grant recipients including Charter Fiberlink/Spectrum, Flint Electric/Conexon Connect and Public Service Telephone Company and states the county will continue to facilitate deployment to remaining unserved sites.

The plan includes demographic analysis showing long‑term population declines countywide and sharper declines in the NFBA; the drafters use that data to justify policies focused on infill development, housing rehabilitation and modest commercial growth along highway corridors. Housing analysis points to a substantial share of manufactured/mobile homes and notes their tax treatment in Georgia (taxed as personal property) as a factor in the local tax base calculus.

Public engagement products appended to the plan include a survey and two recorded public hearings; the document summarizes resident feedback collected in work sessions and the survey and incorporates a citizen SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). Among accomplishments and ongoing projects the county lists completed neighborhood service center rehabilitation, streetscape drawing work for Broad Street and applied grants for sewer planning.

The plan lists next procedural steps: final public hearings and plan revisions are scheduled in the included timetable and the document shows a submission line for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) as part of the certification/submission process. County staff and the River Valley Regional Commission intend to pursue the funding sources listed in the work program, and the plan calls for periodic updates (the document records a five‑year update cycle).