DeKalb CEO to extend moratorium

Incoming DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond’s first official action will be to continue the county’s moratorium on shutting off water service while residents dispute their high bills.

Thurmond, whose fouryear term begins in January, said he will extend the water disconnection freeze for at least 90 more days. Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May started the moratorium in September, but it was set to expire when he leaves office at the end of the year.

Hundreds of DeKalb homeowners have been protesting extreme water bills that in some cases exceed $1,000. County officials say there are many reasons for inaccurate bills, including malfunctioning water meters, mistaken meter readings and inaccurate consumption data.

“They will have the opportunity to have these inaccurate water bills addressed and corrected,” Thurmond said in an interview Friday. “We need to develop a strategy and commit to correcting the problem at its source. ... Negotiating with homeowners who have these high water bills, that’s the right thing to do, but it’s a BandAid for a cancer.”

The moratorium on disconnections applies to residents who contact the county’s customer service center, enter the dispute process and continue paying their average bill amounts.

Residents were worried that the moratorium and dispute process would disappear before the county corrects its water billing problems, said Ellen Buettner, a member of the Unbelievable DeKalb Water Bills group on Facebook.

“There were lots of people who were extremely nervous about it,” said Buettner, whose average bill tripled to $280 this summer and resolved the issue with the county after disputing the charges.