Fulton County may not be legally obligated to pay $5.7 million to the city of Atlanta for past-due water bills because the debt is older than the four-year statute of limitations, according to one county commissioner.
The water bills have been a sticking point between the county and city as it spars over animal control services. Fulton suspended animal control services to Atlanta on April 5 after the city failed to sign an agreement with the county.
During the April 10 county commission meeting, Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. cited state code 9-3-25, adopted in 2020, that says anything older than four years old is legally void.
“If these are bills from 30, 40 years ago, even 10 years ago, or 5 years ago, there’s no basis for recovery,” he said.
County Attorney Soo Jo was instructed by Commission Chairman Robb Pitts to research Arrington’s claim.
The county’s chief financial officer, Sharon Whitmore, told the commissioners that current water bills are paid, so the disputed charges go back many years. Fulton has more than 90 individual accounts with cityy, including the Fulton County Jail, which has the largest outstanding balance.
Arrington warned that the city could decide to shut off the water service at the jail just like the county cut animal control services for the city.
“We have been working with them, dating back to the early mid-90s on clearing and reconciling old balances. Some of this relates to an escrow account that was established in the mid-80s,” Whitmore said.
Whitmore said county staff are researching what was billed and what was paid. They found that some checks that were sent and never cashed by the city. New checks have been issued, and the county is looking to set up an e-payment system to send funds directly to city accounts.
Commissioner Bridget Thorne said she saw a duplicate entry of $495,000 on the one-page spreadsheet the county sent to Pitts’ office.
“Even [the city’s] accounting they sent over to us was incorrect. So, I really think it needs to be researched and if they can’t put together a spreadsheet that’s correct,” Thorne said.
Commissioner Bob Ellis said the water billing was a smokescreen related to the animal control services issue. He said if somebody came to him with bills from five or six years ago, he wouldn’t pay unless there was clear documentation.
Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman said constituents come to her regularly about problems with their water bills. She said customers have had to wait six months to a year to get their bill corrected by the city.
Abdur-Rahman said it would take more than a one-page document with some numbers on it for her to agree for the county to make any payments.
