A proposal that would nearly double water bills for DeKalb County residents drew oppositionat two separate meetings Tuesday, even with a vote likely another month away.
The proposal -- which would raise water and sewer rates 13 percent each year between fiscal years 2012 and 2014 -- was enough to draw a crowd at the Board of County Commission meeting in the morning.
Another 60 to 70 people filled a room on Tuesday night for a public meeting at Dunwoody City Hall that explained the proposal. At every turn, residents said they couldn’t afford a rate hike.
“Where is the money going to come from? These are dire economic times,” said Jerry Myer Jackson, who lives in the Flat Shoals area. “I don’t have it. Nobody has it.”
County officials said the $1.4 billion plan is necessary to replace two of the county’s three aging waste-water plants and make other system upgrades. The monthly increase for the average user, of 6,000 gallons per month, will be between $9 and $11.
The county wants to plan its overhaul, rather than be forced into federal or state oversight repairs, such as the mandates on the Atlanta watershed, said Ted Rhinehart, deputy chief operating officer of infrastructure.
The Snapfinger waste-water center was built to last 50 years and it has been in use for 47 years.
“Because so much of it in the list is critical and for safety purposes, if we don’t at least get started on this program, we are on borrowed time,” Rhinehart said.
The county already approved a 16-percent rate increase for the fiscal years 2009, 2010 and 2011 because of concerns over the system.
For a family that uses 4,000 to 20,000 gallons per month, that would mean a 94-percent increase in five years. The maximum bimonthly bill that was $165 in 2009 would be $320 in 2014.
Commissioner Elaine Boyer, who conducted the Dunwoody meeting, said many of her constituents why questioned why the first rate hike didn’t provide upgrades.
“I get tons of phone calls about the water and sewer rates,” Boyer said. “I think the public needs to understand, if you ask for this how long is this going to last you?
Sensitive to the criticism, county commissioners have scrapped about $500,000 in planned improvements. That dropped the annual increase from 16 percent to the proposed 13.
In addition to the upgrades, a rate hike will help offset the drop in revenue from mandatory water restrictions that hindered the earlier increase.
Drought restrictions caused DeKalb water use to drop about 7.5 percent in 2009, creating a $28.3 million loss. The county expects to lose about $34.3 million this year because of the water restrictions.
At least one resident at each meeting agreed that the rate increase would make sense now, rather than waiting.
“If we don’t take care of the infrastructure properly, we will be faced with a lot more than a 13-percent increase,” said Sara Fountain, who voiced support at the commission meeting.
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