DeKalb County Town Hall on Stormwater & Sanitation Rate Increases – June 11, 2026
DeKalb County Town Hall on Stormwater & Sanitation Rate Increases – June 11, 2026
This town hall meeting, held on June 11, 2026, at approximately 6:30 PM and adjourned at 8:33 PM, was convened by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners to discuss proposed rate increases for the stormwater and sanitation enterprise funds. Presentations were delivered by consultants from Arcadis and county staff, followed by public comments. The meeting covered the condition of the county's stormwater infrastructure, the financial needs of the sanitation department, and potential policy adjustments.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Adriana Long (resident, Ellenwood) : Asked whether rates would ever revert after the proposed 10-year increase, if the county was understaffed, whether excess funds could be diverted to other programs, how renters would be affected, and if there were provisions for seniors/low-income residents.
- Barbara Francis (Whitehall Forest Drive) : Stated that her community is in a floodplain due to busted pipes and that despite paying taxes and fees, they have not received help. She urged the commission to consider their situation.
- Katie Jeffers (unincorporated DeKalb resident) : Expressed concern that neighbors abusing the system (e.g., putting out extra trash or bullying sanitation workers) are not paying their fair share. Suggested per-bin pricing to incentivize waste reduction. Supported composting and asked about recycling education.
- Suzanne Sen (Stone Mountain) : Advocated for zero-waste goals, increased recycling and composting education, and suggested that the county could reduce waste by training citizens. Mentioned that in Maine, garbage bins are smaller than recycling bins, and extra garbage requires purchasing designated bags.
- Karen Minviel (Dancing Fox Road) : Supported the composting program and noted that her community of 67 homes composts their own yard waste. Asked the county to take over composting to extend landfill life.
- Amy Grinnelli (Brookhaven) : Supported county composting and requested ongoing education on recycling, as the recycling landscape changes frequently.
- Mike Cooper (Stone Mountain) : Cited a county code (Chapter 22, Article 2, Section 2230) that states refuse should be collected twice weekly, noting that the code has not been updated since the switch to weekly pickup. Asked that the code be amended.
Discussion Items
Stormwater Rate Increase Presentation (Rich, Arcadis; Director Gordon)
- The stormwater utility serves unincorporated DeKalb and Stonecrest (approx. 350,000–400,000 residents). Infrastructure includes 500 miles of pipe, 135 miles of roadside ditches, 22,000 catch basins, 200 bridges, and over 900 detention ponds. About 400 miles of corrugated metal pipe are over 30 years old.
- The program has been reactive; a strategic master plan (adopted ~2024) aims to shift to proactive maintenance. High-risk infrastructure includes 413 locations where a culvert failure could isolate 1–10 properties. Rehabbing those pipes is estimated at over $500 million (unincorporated) plus $100 million for Stonecrest.
- The current residential rate is $10/month ($120/year). A 10% annual increase for 10 years is proposed, starting with $1/month increase in 2026. This would generate $112 million in capital renewal over 10 years. The immediate need is debt service on a $30 million Corps of Engineers loan for dam repairs.
- The county has secured a $10 million GIFA loan, $10 million in ARPA funds, and a $2.4 million BRIC grant to offset costs.
Sanitation Rate Increase Presentation (Robert Ryle, Arcadis; Director McKinney)
- The solid waste fund has operated at a deficit for five years, relying on the general fund. Without changes, the projected deficit over 10 years is over $500 million.
- Current residential rate is $315/year. Proposed: 15% increases in 2026 and 2027 ($47/year increase in 2026, ~$4/month), then 10% annual increases for the remaining eight years. A $21 million general fund loan is needed to cover the transition.
- Capital needs over 10 years: $126 million for landfill cell expansion, $84 million for non-landfill facilities (transfer stations), and $120 million for vehicle replacement – total $330 million. The current landfill cell has about 4 years of capacity; building a new cell takes 4 years.
- Commissioner Terry presented additional proposals: adjusting the minimum scale fee for small loads (e.g., a bag of garbage), reducing the tire tip fee from $12 to $3.50 for standard tires (with higher fees for large/rimmed tires), expanding composting (including a pilot in Avondale Estates), and offering a rebate for residents within 2 miles of the landfill. He also requested studying a delay in the rate increase for low-income seniors (under $40,000 income) and exploring a larger recycling bin option.
Key Outcomes
- County staff will provide written responses to all public questions and commissioner requests at the next Public Works and Infrastructure (PWI) Committee meeting on June 18, 2026, at 3:30 PM. The meeting will be broadcast on DCTV 23.
- The administration will review Commissioner Terry's proposals (composting, tire fee, equitable rates, etc.) and provide fiscal impact analyses.
- A map showing the location of future landfill cells relative to residential properties will be produced for the next discussion.
- The county will coordinate with the new Sustainability Chief and the school system to enhance recycling education and possibly resume school recycling programs.
- No formal vote was taken; the town hall was informational. The next steps will be discussed at the June 18 committee meeting.
Meeting Transcript
All right, everyone. Good evening. Thank you for joining us tonight. We're going to be having a discussion about potential rate increases in the stormwater as well as sanitation enterprise funds for DeCap County. Of course, those are priorities for the level of service that we're able to offer to the residents. With that said, I want to introduce uh my colleagues, Commissioner Shakira Johnson, who also serves as the uh presiding officer of the Board of Commissioners, uh, Commissioner Ted Terry, who is also the chair of the FAB committee. Uh, and we also have this evening with us Director Gordon. Welcome. Well, thank you. Thank you for having me here. Uh, we really appreciate this opportunity uh to have this town hall meeting so you guys can get all the answers you would like along with the public, and uh we appreciate you letting us uh request a rate increase for stormwater and sanitation. And uh this time I'd like to bring up uh uh Rick from Ricada, and he's gonna do the presentation. Thank you. All right, thank you, Director Gordon. Rich, good to see you. Good to see you too. Thank you. All right. Good evening, Commissioner Patrick. Sir Patrick, I just want to let you know, Commissioner Michelle Longspears is joined you virtually. Commissioner Spears, I appreciate you stepping in and reminding us. Uh thank you for being here virtually. We are uh we're grateful for your time as well. And um, if there's any other commissioners, this would be a time to introduce yourself if you're available. Okay. If not, Rich, please go ahead and get started. All right, thank you. All right, so I'm gonna step back for just a second because we're gonna give you a uh an overview of the of the program and then uh talk about the the financials uh specifically the rate studies. So um, and this is really I know some of y'all know this already, but just stepping back, the modern stormwater program for the county really kind of dates back to 1994, so a little over 30 years. Uh when the county was issued its first national pollutant discharge elimination system, municipal separate storm sewer system permit in PDS MS4. Um and that kind of kicked off the modern modern era. Um it kind of rolled along for uh a number of years, about seven years, and then Georgia uh created the first Georgia Stormwater Management Manual, and that kind of kind of standardized requirements for counties and cities across the state. Um in response to that and infrastructure needs the county formed the stormwater utility in 2003. Um and then every uh five years the the permit is renewed, and I I'm you know you won't be surprised to hear that they never roll back requirements, they just add on to them. So every time you see one of those black lines, just know there's been something added to it. Um and that kind of corresponds with the next one there. Uh 2016, they updated the stormwater management manual so they could incorporate additional requirements onto the program uh via the the next permit in 2019. Um the other thing I'd note is again the the utility was formed in 2003. The first stormwater utility rate increase wasn't until 2023, three years ago. So um that kind of gets us up to almost today. Rich, if I can just add, uh if you'll go back to that previous screen, uh as a former bureaucrat, every time I see a string of letters like that for an acronym, I I know I halfway fall asleep. So I'm glad you could explain to us what that meant. Uh but very complicated. What you're basically trying to tell us is is when it rains, the water has to go somewhere, and it ends up either going in someone's yard and then getting pushed through there to some pipe or some road, which then we have to deal with all of this surge of water. Uh and for those who remember what happened a few weeks ago at 7585, uh the surge of water came along and it clogged all of the inlets. Yep. And then it shut down the interstate. I guess the benefit would be is is GDOT has newer, stronger pipes than we would have in place, and that some of the concern ultimately is is we have old pipes, older infrastructure in DeCab, and the potential for loss of roads or private property is is the concern that we're trying to ultimately address with all of this. And I would the only thing I would add to that is the MPDS permit. One of the things that added on, you were absolutely correct in everything you just said.
openpublica.com