Atlanta proposal would expand power to adjust disputed water bills for three months

Atlanta’s watershed commissioner could gain broad—but temporary—power to resolve disputed water-account balances for single-family residential customers under a proposal on the City Utilities Committee’s Oct. 13 agenda. The committee meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m.⁠[1][2]

Ordinance 26-O-1564, sponsored by Councilmembers Dustin Hillis and Liliana Bakhtiari, would allow the commissioner or a designee to adjust those accounts “for any period of time, in any amount.” The authority would run from Nov. 1, 2026, through Jan. 31, 2027.⁠[1][2]

That three-month window limits when officials could exercise the expanded authority; it does not restrict adjustments to bills incurred during those months. The proposal expressly allows adjustments covering any period, while requiring decisions to follow established standard operating procedures and the commissioner’s discretion.⁠[2]

The measure is tied to the Flexible Levels, Options, & Affordable Terms initiative, or F.L.O.A.T. The legislation describes its first phase as scheduled for the same November-through-January period, offering ways to bring accounts current and resources for customers facing financial challenges. It says the effort may also generate field-service requests to correct meter problems and billing errors.⁠[1][2]

The ordinance’s stated aim is to give Watershed Management more flexibility than the city code currently allows, so customer concerns can be resolved in one interaction. That is the proposal’s rationale—not evidence that disputes have already been resolved or that customers will necessarily receive an adjustment.⁠[2]

This would not be an automatic reduction for every overdue account. The proposed authority is discretionary and applies to single-family residential accounts. Although the ordinance invokes operating procedures, it does not describe the evidence customers would need or how individual adjustment amounts would be determined.⁠[2]

The packet records a Council referral without objection on Oct. 5 and marks the Oct. 13 committee review as pending. It does not establish enactment. For now, the expanded authority remains a proposal, not a remedy customers can assume is already available.⁠[2]