DeKalb Set to Release 8,000 Water Bills

BROOKHAVEN, GA -- DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond announced Tuesday that water and sewage bills will resume being mailed to 8,000 customers next week.

Thurmond will give further details Wednesday on the water bills, which were halted by the county during a billing crisis that saw exorbitant amounts being charged to county residents.

The January and February bills will be mailed the week of April 10, Thurmond said. Along with the bills, residents will receive a letter detailing plans to solve the water bill issue.

In the letter, which Patch has obtained, Thurmond apologizes to water and sewer customers and goes into detail on how DeKalb can move forward.

"In September 2016, staff members were instructed not to mail bills that could not be independently verified as being accurate. Our inability to verify the accuracy of the 37,000 'held' water and sewer bills resulted in thousands of customers not receiving a bill since that date. Customer concerns associated with the failure to mail these bills was compounded by the absence of clarifying information and confusing explanations," he says in the letter.

In added: "Please be advised that “held” bills will not be mailed until the root causes of billing inaccuracies have been identified and corrected. Customers whose bills have been “held” will not be penalized. When 'held' bills are released, charges will be based upon the appropriate tiered rate schedule. Upon request, extended payment terms with no late fees will be available for the “held” bills only."

Thurmond promised when he took office in January that the water billing issue would be a priority and his administration has regularly updated residents on their progress in trying to fix the issue, which has plagued two previous CEOs.

Image via DeKalb government