Department
Public Works
Requested Action (Identify appropriate Action or Motion, purpose, cost, timeframe, etc.)
title
Request approval of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Fulton County and Clayton County Water Authority for sanitary sewer services related to the Brittany and Normandy subdivisions and billing services related to the Lake Royale subdivision for a period of 20 years. Effective upon approval by the BOC. (APPROVED UPON ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA)
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Requirement for Board Action (Cite specific Board policy, statute or code requirement)
GA CONST Art. 9, § 3, ¶ I provides that the County may contract for any period not exceeding 50 years with any other public agency, public corporation, or public authority for joint services, for the provision of services, or for the joint or separate use of facilities or equipment; but such contracts must deal with activities, services, or facilities that the contracting parties are authorized by law to undertake or provide. O.C.G.A § 36-10-1 provides that all official contracts entered into by the County governing authority with other persons on behalf of the County shall be in writing and entered on its minutes
Strategic Priority Area related to this item (If yes, note strategic priority area below)
Health and Human Services
Commission Districts Affected
All Districts ☐
District 1 ☐
District 2 ☐
District 3 ☐
District 4 ☐
District 5 ☒
District 6 ☐
Is this a purchasing item?
No
Summary & Background
In 1989, an IGA with Clayton County, and its subsequent amendments, allowed the homes within the Brittany and Normandy subdivisions in Fulton County to send their wastewater to Clayton County for treatment. Fulton County is currently charged a fixed rate per home within the Brittany and Normandy subdivisions. It was agreed to be in the interest of both Fulton County and the Clayton Water Authority to draft a new agreement that billed the County based on actual flow volume rather than a set cost per home.
This new IGA also addresses the sewer network of another subdivision named Lake Royale. This subdivision is currently provided water by Clayton County and sewer by Fulton County and customers in the Lake Royale subdivision are sent two separate bills: one for water from Clayton County, and another for sewer by Fulton County. In order to eliminate the confusion for customers within this subdivision as well as improve billing collection and enforcement for Fulton County, this IGA creates an arrangement that will allow Clayton County to bill these customers for sewer service on Fulton’s behalf. Clayton County will then retain 8% of the collected amount for acting as Fulton County’s billing collection agent, and Clayton County will transmit the remaining collected sewer funds to Fulton County. This mirrors the arrangements Fulton County has with other municipal entities, including the City of Atlanta and the City of Roswell.
Scope of Work: This IGA consists of two major parts:
1) Brittany and Normandy sewer flow
Allows Fulton County to send up to 150,000 gallons per day (gpd) of sewer flow to Clayton County for treatment. Fulton County will be billed in the new IGA according to actual flow volume rather than through predetermined set volumes.
2) Lake Royale sewer billing
Allows Clayton County to act as Fulton County’s sewer billing collection agent in an area of Fulton County where Clayton County is the water provider.
Community Impact: Clayton County serves a portion of Fulton County via sewer treatment through the previously approved IGA, and also currently serves some Fulton County residents as a water provider. This new IGA will allow Fulton County and Clayton County to continue to work together in treating wastewater and serving Fulton County residents, no matter their water provider, in an efficient and sensible manner.
Department Recommendation: The Public Works Department recommends approval of this item.
Project Implications: This agreement is necessary for the two entities to continue cooperation in the safe collection, transport, and treatment of wastewater
Community Issues/Concerns: Customers who live in the Lake Royale subdivision have expressed confusion when they received two separate bills: one from Clayton County for water and another from Fulton County for sanitary sewer. The Public Works Department believes that consolidating the bills into one, as is done for the vast majority of the Camp Creek watershed area, will alleviate this confusion and provide a single point of contact for any billing questions or discrepancies.
Department Issues/Concerns: The Public Works Department has not identified any concerns/issues with this item.
Fiscal Impact / Funding Source
Funding Line 1:
n/a