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Statesboro council advances ordinance shifting some sewer-lateral repair work to city
Summary
On July 7, 2026 Statesboro City held first reading of Ordinance 2026-02 to amend Chapter 82 and move responsibility for opening the public right-of-way and certain street repairs to the city, aiming to reduce out-of-pocket costs for single‑family properties with failing laterals.
Statesboro City held a public hearing and approved first reading of Ordinance 2026-02 on July 7, 2026, a measure that would amend Chapter 82 (section 82.101 a, c and d) to change how sewer lateral repair assistance is delivered. Mayor Tim Sherry Barr opened the hearing and asked staff to summarize the proposal.
Mister Bennett, a city staff member, told the council that the city previously operated a grant assistance program limited to owner-occupied properties but that rising repair costs and widely varying lateral configurations have made that approach inadequate. "After doing quite a bit of research... we recommended we will do away with the grant assistance program," he said, recommending the city assume responsibility for opening the right-of-way and performing street repairs to lower the cost burden on single-family properties, including tenant-occupied homes.
Bennett described the issue as driven in part by aging Orangeburg pipe and by repairs that require work within the street; those street-repair costs can substantially increase a homeowner's bill. He said the city would provide labor and street repair work while the lateral itself remains the property owner's responsibility.
Council discussion was brief; no members raised substantive objections during the hearing. Council then moved to approve advancing the ordinance on first reading, and the motion carried on an affirmative vote recorded as "Aye." The transcript does not record a roll-call tally by name for the vote.
Why this matters: many single-family properties in Statesboro rely on older sewer laterals that can fail unpredictably; shifting the city's role in addressing street-opening and repair work aims to reduce repair costs for homeowners and tenants and to standardize how repairs affecting public rights-of-way are handled.
Next steps: the ordinance passed its first reading and will return for the next procedural step required by city code (a subsequent reading and final adoption vote).
