ATLANTA — Atlanta City leaders are working to figure out how to recoup a staggering $200 million dollars in unpaid water bills.
On Tuesday, an audit of the city's Watershed Management Department revealed that the debt has been climbing over the last decade. The findings showed that $137 million of the $200 million was linked to active water accounts.
Those presenting the audit, in part, blamed an order the Watershed Management Department was following from a previous mayor to not terminate water due to unpaid bills.
Deputy Commissioner of Watershed Management Jonathan Williams admits that this order has created more work for them.
“Because we have not shut off water for 12 years, there is a significant amount of work that needs to be done," Williams said.
However, some council members like Michael Julian Bond argue that shutting off water may not be the answer.
“Folks who are customers need to be provided the flexibility to bring their bills current," Bond said.
The council member admits that things never should have gotten to this point.
“It was surprising to me that the number had increased to that volume without being addressed. Someone within the department should have rung a bell prior to now," Bond added.
Recommendations were made during the meeting for Watershed Management to start enforcing water shut-offs, develop and document collection tasks while targeting each unpaid account, and maintain write-off uncollectible debt.
The Commissioner for Watershed Management, Mikita Browning, released this statement in response to the audit:
"The Department of Watershed Management has taken conscientious actions to address the City Audit Team’s issues expressed in their recent audit by implementing customer-focused and internal operational enhancements over the past two years. Our current collections strategy is fully equipped with all the necessary policies, processes, and procedures to address outstanding water account balances effectively and efficiently.
DWM targets over 100% collections rate, indicating ideal customer payment behavior and overdue account payments. Annual water and wastewater revenues grew from $431 million in 2021 to $465 million in 2023, correlating with service terminations resumption.
DWM is prioritizing water accounts with outstanding balances. It will take time and resources to resolve the decade-old issue and large outstanding balance. However, we are confident that our current plan, including metering infrastructure upgrades, is the right step towards meeting our goals."