Fulton County has insisted that the city of Atlanta provide a detailed accounting of the claims that the county owes $5.7 million in unpaid water bills.
Fulton County Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whitmore said staff has a meeting scheduled with the city next Thursday, May 9, to discuss the claims. She expects that Felicia Strong-Whitaker, Fulton County’s director of Purchasing & Contract Compliance, will have a timeline prepared on what actions the county should take based on recommendations after that meeting.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement that put focus on the water bill claims after the county ended animal control services for Atlanta when an agreement hadn’t been reached.
“Additionally, Fulton County owes the COA $5.7 million in unpaid water bills, and the city understands the impact of suspending service on citizens and jail inmates,” Dickens’ statement on April 5 said. “We would not risk endangering the welfare of people or animals while negotiating in good faith to resolve these issues. We expect the same professionalism and care for our citizens and animals from the county.”
Since that time, the city and the county have reached an animal control services agreement, and Fulton County has resumed providing services in Atlanta and the other 14 cities in the county through its contractor, LifeLine Animal Project.
Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said the county need to resolve this issue, so he plans to join in on the meeting with the Atlanta staff.
Whitmore said she doesn’t expect the issue to be resolved at the meeting. Staff will not bring an offer to the city to pay anything.
“We intend to seek documentation as we always for have the balance that they claim is outstanding and to go from that point forward,” she said.
Up until this week, Atlanta has provided the county with a spreadsheet listing amounts they say the county owes. Staff is working with the county attorney’s office to resolve the issue, Whitmore said.
County Commissioner Marvin Arrington said without the documentation, a discussion about the statute of limitations for the bills is premature. Whitmore said she understands that Atlanta has a different idea about the statute of limitations.
County Attorney Soo Jo said her office has been researching the issue and believes the county has valid defenses on several fronts.
“We absolutely agree with Commissioner Harrington that that is actually the first order of business because it’s my understanding that all of the debt is alleged to have been incurred decades ago,” she said. “And so that would be outside of any of the statutes of limitation.”
Until the county has Atlanta’s documentation, it is not in a position to analyze the city’s claims, Jo said.
The city has not return a request for comment by Rough Draft Atlanta.
