DeKalb committee defers proposed stormwater fee increase after technical briefing; town hall and ordinance requested

Commissioner Robert Patrick convened the Public Works & Infrastructure committee to hear a technical briefing and discussion on a proposed increase to DeKalb County's stormwater utility fees, and the committee voted to defer consideration for two weeks while staff prepares additional materials and public outreach.

Rich, the county's vendor lead from Arcadus, told the committee the stormwater utility maintains an extensive system—"over 34,000 pipes, basically 500 miles," plus roughly 22,000 inlets and about 900 ponds—and that many assets are reaching the end of their useful life. He said the Snapfinger Creek watershed condition assessment found 161 critical assets in poor condition (about 15% of that basin), which extrapolates to roughly 700 potentially poor-condition critical assets across the county. For the Snapfinger basin alone, conceptual replacement estimates for identified critical systems totaled about $14–15 million.

Staff described funding strategies tied to a proposed '10 by 10' scenario—no more than a 10% rate increase per year for 10 years—starting from a baseline residential rate of $10 per month ($120 per year). The model shown to the committee raised projected billed revenue from roughly $32 million annually without action to about $51 million by year five under the modeled scenario. Staff said the additional revenue would support SwiftP loan debt service for dam repairs and fund a ramp-up of capital projects while maintaining approximately a six-month operating reserve.

Commissioners pressed for more detail on prioritization, equity and public outreach. Commissioner Terry requested the written math behind the nonresidential charge normalization (the vendor explained the nonresidential bill is derived by dividing a property's impervious area by 3,000 sq ft, the equivalent-residential unit) and asked for the full 10-year spreadsheet. Commissioner Johnson asked staff to include comparisons for Atlanta-area counties; staff noted Atlanta and Fulton handle stormwater differently (some cities include stormwater in water/sewer rates) but agreed to provide county-by-county comparators when possible.

Several commissioners pressed for clearer public-facing materials. Commissioner Terry asked for a draft ordinance laying out rates, exemptions and allocations; others recommended a town-hall (evening) session and a presentation at the County Operations Worksession (COW) so all commissioners can review the materials before a vote. The committee agreed to defer agenda item 2026-0587 for two weeks to allow staff to produce the requested 10-year financial model, the draft ordinance/resolution and to schedule public engagement; a town-hall and a COW presentation were proposed during the deferral period.

In closing, staff and commissioners framed the increase as a preventive investment to avoid reactive emergency repairs. As Rich put it during an exchange with commissioners: "Imagine not getting out of your being able to leave your neighborhood," a shorthand summary of the committee's argument that failing critical assets could isolate neighborhoods, create long detours and impose larger economic costs than a phased fee increase. The motion to defer carried by voice vote; staff will return with the ordinance language, refined spreadsheets and a public outreach plan at the next committee cycle.