Disputed DeKalb water bills may get outside review

An outside review process is being proposed for DeKalb County residents to appeal high water and sewer bills.

An independent hearing officer would consider cases and have the authority to decide how much people must pay, according to a draft ordinance Friday from Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May.

Hundreds of residents have been protesting water bills that have inexplicably spiked, with some charges amounting to thousands of dollars.

“We understand that people’s level of confidence is kind of low now, so we wanted to give them a sense of confidence that the process is fair,” May said about the appeal proposal.

The appeal process would be available to customers who, after disputing their bills to the government, still object to the county's assessment of how much they owe.

DeKalb would hire third-party hearing officers to review evidence, hold hearings and then make a decision, according to the proposal. The officers' decisions would be final unless cases are further appealed to DeKalb Superior Court.