The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 28 deferred consideration of a substitute resolution that would raise water and sewer rates and authorize a bond issuance for major infrastructure work. County Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams presented a revised plan on behalf of the Department of Watershed Management proposing a 10% annual rate increase for 10 years paired with a bond program; staff said the substitute would enable borrowing to support rehabilitation and upgrades to the countys water and wastewater system.

Williams said the administrations substitute replaces the earlier plan that had proposed an 8% annual increase; he described the revised approach as a 10-year program and told commissioners the financing plan would permit a larger bond issue than previously discussed. "The substitute, in fact, is approving a 10% rate increase, for 10 years," Williams said. He added that the administration would provide a redline of the substitute and run public outreach, including three town halls intended to cover north, central and south DeKalb.

Commissioners pressed staff for more details before a vote. Requests included: projections of how the increase would affect the average residential bill over time; breakdowns of the impact on residential versus commercial accounts; the anticipated role and size of assistance programs (for example, the countys CARE/assistance programs); and an item-by-item catalogue of projects and costs the proposed funding would pay for. Several commissioners also asked staff to document alternatives and non-rate funding sources that the county is pursuing.

Commissioner Robert Patrick moved to defer the substitute and have staff present the item at a special-called Public Works and Infrastructure (PWI) meeting scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 30, and to provide the additional materials requested by commissioners. Commissioner Ladina Bolton seconded the motion; the motion passed by machine vote.

What the substitute would have done: As described on the meeting record and by county staff, the substitute changes earlier language to a proposed 10% annual increase for a 10-year period, and it would be paired with a bond issuance to fund capital work to rehabilitate the Scott Candler water treatment facility and other watershed capital projects. The original resolution text on the published agenda referenced a bond not to exceed $375 million; the COO told commissioners the revised financing approach would permit a higher bond issuance level (administration comments referenced $450 million as a potential level), and staff said they would clarify the exact par amount and financing plan at the special PWI session.

Public outreach and mitigation: Williams said the county will schedule at least three town-hall sessions and that the administration will provide an insert/mailer for customers and other outreach. Commissioners asked for information about: projected average-bill impacts under the proposed schedule, an expected timeline for bond issuance, the proposed structure and staffing of a customer-advocate office, and the scope and funding level of assistance programs for low-income and disabled customers.

Next steps: The substitute will be discussed at a special-called PWI meeting; the administration will provide more-detailed cost breakdowns, bill-impact tables and program design proposals requested by commissioners ahead of that meeting.

Direct quote: "Our objective would be to formally make this substitute, present at the... special called PWI committee meeting," COO Zach Williams said. "We will ensure that you get a red line version of that so that you can track along to ensure that everything that we've talked about is continues to be included."