Rockdale County Stormwater fee to be placed on annual property tax bill

ROCKDALE COUNTY– Rockdale County has joined more than a dozen cities and counties in the metro Atlanta area including DeKalb, Gwinnett, Hall and Henry counties, and the cities of Decatur and Conyers, to name a few, that include the stormwater utility fee on the property tax bill.

The decision comes as a collaborative effort of the Rockdale County Tax Commissioner’s Office, Rockdale County Board of Commissioners and the Department of Stormwater Management to ensure the stormwater utility fees are properly billed and collected, and the utility is properly funded. These fees go toward stormwater operations and infrastructure improvement, rehabilitation and restoration to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of the County’s residents and visitors.

“This was a long and overdue decision,” Chairman Oz Nesbitt, Sr. says. We appreciate the Tax Commissioner for moving on this as we progressively work to address maintaining the County’s stormwater infrastructure.”

Residents will begin to see the stormwater utility fee on their annual property tax bill starting in September 2021, and they will no longer receive a separate stormwater bill.

Prior to the addition of the fee to the property tax bill, the stormwater fee existed as a stand-alone bill charged to all residents in the county to address maintenance of storm drains and other stormwater structures. The addition of the stormwater fee to the property tax bill increases the stability of collecting stormwater fees.

“Thanks to the leadership of the BOC and the support of the Tax Commissioners Office, Stormwater Management will be able to serve residents at a higher capacity” Marilyn Arnold, Stormwater Customer Service Financial Manager said. “This helps us ensure everyone in the county is contributing to help keep our structures maintained and streets safe.”

The Stormwater Utility was previously managed by the Planning and Development Department. The county created a separate Department of Stormwater Management in February 2018. As an enterprise fund, all fees collected go directly to stormwater operations, and infrastructure improvements, rehabilitation and restoration.