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DeKalb County will refund winter overages and cap farm tenant electricity at $75 a month
Summary
After reviewing rising winter electric bills for the county‑owned farm, commissioners approved refunding the renter for several months and set a $75 monthly payment for the tenant going forward; motion carried 3–0.
Commissioners reviewed a multi‑year pattern of electric bills for the county farm and voted to reimburse the tenant for recent winter overages and to cap the tenant’s monthly payment at $75 going forward.
Staff presented a history of bills showing recent spikes: January utility bills rising from roughly $88 a year earlier to $259.18, and February increasing from about $200 to $516.14 as maintenance added heating loads. Commissioners debated options — including flat fees and retroactive refunds — before adopting a motion to refund the tenant for December 2025 through March 2026 and to set a $75 monthly tenant charge going forward.
“We need to pay; it’d be easiest if we paid the whole thing and then we had him pay us,” one commissioner said during the discussion, and the board finalized the $75 amount as a compromise that should smooth seasonal variations. The motion carried 3–0.
The board asked staff to document the decision in the minutes and to reevaluate the arrangement and average usage in a year.
Article provenance: county farm electricity history and the motion to refund and set a monthly cap were discussed and decided in the farm electric payments segment of the meeting.
