As DeKalb County prepares to implement the first of 10 water and sewer rate increases that will more than double the average bill over the next decade, more than half of the county’s water customers have some delinquent balance, DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said Tuesday to the Board of Commissioners.
After Tuesday’s meeting, it remained unclear unclear when — or if — shut-off protections for certain “vulnerable populations” will take effect.
The county commission requested those protections in February when passing 10% rate hikes for each of the next 10 years. The increases will generate more than $2 billion in additional revenue to fix DeKalb’s deteriorating sewer and drinking water systems.
During the same February meeting, the commission unanimously approved a resolution that requested Cochran-Johnson protect households with children, seniors or disabled residents, “those experiencing temporary hardships” and those disputing their bills from water shutoffs.
The first rate hike takes effect July 1.
The resolution did not specify an effective date for the shut-off protections. Commissioner Michelle Long Spears, its sponsor, said the protections were intended to take effect immediately. But because it was written as a resolution, not legislation that amends the county code, it is not binding, Cochran-Johnson said last week at a news conference.
“In all honesty, a resolution is only as good as the paper it’s written on unless you decide to implement it,” she said. “However, we are dedicated to ensuring that every provision of the resolution is honored.
“In practice, we’re already doing what the resolution says.”
But the Legal Defense Fund is challenging water shutoffs for at least 10 residents, including some who should qualify for the protections, attorney David Wheaton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Legal Defense Fund, American Friends Service Committee and other advocacy organizations are pushing for the shut-off protections to take effect immediately.
“While I appreciate the CEO’s stated commitment to fiscal responsibility and her concern for recouping revenue owed to the county, I remain concerned by the lack of a clear commitment to water shut-off protections outlined in the resolution,” Spears said Monday in an email.
Super District Commissioner Ted Terry, who represents the county’s western half, sent a letter Monday to county leaders asking them to pause residential shutoffs until all the protections are in place, including an independent Water Customer Advocate Office that the resolution requested by next January.
Cochran-Johnson said accounts in dispute are only shut off when customers fail to pay charges that are not disputed. She encouraged residents facing financial or medical hardship to call the water department’s customer service line.
County officials did not respond to emailed questions about demographic-based shut-off protections.
Brandy Knox, a single mother who lives in Stone Mountain, told the county commission last week that her water was shut off for almost three weeks after she was billed $18,000, likely the result of leaks in 2018 and 2022.
Knox said the county adjusted her bill only slightly, then told her to pay $1,500 down and $500 per month until the debt was paid off.
“This is impossible for someone with my income and I imagine it would even be impossible for others with much greater incomes,” she said. “I begged the county for options and I was refused.”
Knox said her service was only restored after community advocates got involved.
The news outlet Decaturish first reported on Knox and two other residents with exceptionally high bills who couldn’t afford their payment plans.
County spokesperson Quinn Hudson told the AJC the county typically requires a 10% down payment and payoff within 2 to 7 years.
“The county could accept less than 10 percent based on the information provided by the customer,” Hudson said in an email.
Cochran-Johnson said last week that DeKalb water customers owe a total of nearly $105 million in delinquent bills. More than 600 accounts have balances of $5,000 or greater, she said.
As of Tuesday, Cochran-Johnson said 82 bills were in dispute. By contrast, during the county’s water billing crisis that began in 2016, more than 50,000 bills were disputed. The crisis precipitated a five-year shut-off moratorium while the county replaced meters and fixed systems.
Some customers with high delinquent balances never paid bills during the shut-off moratorium even though the bills were accurate, Cochran-Johnson said. She also encouraged them to call the customer service line to negotiate a plan.
“I don’t want you to be embarrassed,” she said. “We’re going to treat this like the Southern Baptist Church. You show up where you are. But the notice today is, you must show up.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect comments made at Tuesday’s DeKalb County Commission meeting.
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