DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted to delay a discussion of a series of planned water rate hikes until a Thursday Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting.
The delay follows recent news that DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson was urging an increase to water rates to fund necessary updates to the county’s water and sewage infrastructure.
“We have reached a critical state because many of our water pipes and mains should have been replaced long ago,” Cochran-Johnson said at the time.
Cochran-Johnson’s comments came after a recent water main break in Brookhaven left thousands of residents and businesses without water for several days while repairs were made on a water main installed in 1941.
At Tuesday’s commission meeting, DeKalb County’s Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams first referred to a change of plans for the proposed increases.
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A previous version of the rate increase plan had laid out an 8% per year for 10 years. Now, officials are proposing a 10% per year increase, also for 10 years.
Commissioners had questions for Williams in terms of both how the plans would play out, how the increases would work and how DeKalb County residents would be able to weigh in on the increases before implementation.
Steps in the process include a set of at least three town hall discussions about the water upgrades, with commissioners asking for informational inserts to be included in copies of water bills for residents who could not make it to them.
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District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson asked Williams if 10 years of increases with 10% each year would be able to cover the entire cost of the improvements, repairs, and more.
“What is needed is very complicated. I look at our water system much like any other, like your car your home, your personal health...What we are seeking to do over the next 10 years is get our health up to a sufficient level, but we will always need to invest in water-sewer infrastructure,” Williams explained to the county commission.
“When you say invest in water-sewer infrastructure, would that be maintenance or—?” Johnson asked.
“In large part,” Williams confirmed.
Williams said that with a 10 year, 10% increase plan and bond, it would increase the viability of the water system and “protect our collective future” in terms of environment and economy, but was not a “one and done” approach to maintaining the infrastructure.
“What we do not want is in 10 years from now, a body to be having conversations like this and then disinvesting for the following decades. That is what has gotten us here,” Williams said. “This is the fix, but there will always need to be an ongoing investment in water and sewage.”
He also told Johnson and the rest of the commission that there would be three public meetings held on the planned rate increases.
Commissioner Robert Patrick, District 1, motioned to delay a full vote for two weeks to account for discussion of the substitute, the rate increases and the bonding options, so commissioners could go over the details of the funding balance requirements and revenue needs to make the project successful.
Commissioner Johnson asked what the estimate was for the bill changes, but Williams deferred an answer until the coming meeting on rate increases and the following vote.
Commissioner LaDena Bolton, Super District 7, asked Williams to provide some type of percentage estimate for property owners versus businesses and grants and loans as far as where the revenue and funding for the infrastructure updates would come from.
Johnson also added to the request, asking for a further breakdown between commercial and retail payments for the funding.
Commissioner Terry asked about how the DeKalb Cares discount program would be impacted, or would play into, funding needs for water infrastructure, adding that there were plans to increase the fund’s size to between $2 and $3 billion.
Terry said he thought the commission should estimate with the annual increases to ensure calculations are accurate, even while accounting for a delayed five-month start for the May 1, 2025 beginning of the proposed rate increase plan.
When asked about alternative options to the 10% per year over 10 years plan, Williams told the commissioners that the county would never not be able to invest, though the county would continue looking for alternative funding sources.
“The 10 by 10 is something that we’re proposing as the rate component but we will consistently look for vehicles, whether it’s not only loans but maybe other allocations, federal allocations, quite frankly, that may be of assistance,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t say ‘in lieu of,’ I’d say ‘in addition to.’”
As far as postponing the broader discussion, commissioners voted unanimously to delay it until Thursday’s meeting.
The meeting as discussed is expected to be hosted on Thursday, Jan. 30 at the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. A vote afterward is expected on Feb. 4, according to county officials.
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