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ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA – County property owners will see their stormwater fees on their property tax bills, instead of receiving a separate bill from the Stormwater Management Department beginning this year. Residents will see the fee on the property assessment notices, which are mailed in April and give an estimate of what will be due in November. The new residential rate, effective Jan. 1, 2021, is set at $102. Commercial rates are calculated per square foot of impervious area. Impervious area is any area that does not soak up water. 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.
Rockdale joins other counties in the metro Atlanta area including DeKalb, Gwinnett, Hall and Henry counties that include the stormwater fee on the property tax bill.
“Needing to maintain our stormwater infrastructure in our County is a very important service we provide to our residents and stakeholders,” said Marilyn Arnold, Stormwater Customer Service Financial Manager. “These rates will help us meet the monetary mark to complete current and future projects to make conditions safer as we improve our infrastructure.”
The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners (BOC) approved a resolution to set the new stormwater rates on Sept. 22, 2020. County officials said the rates were decided after working with an engineering consultant to develop the Stormwater Management Master Plan and a national stormwater rate consultant to develop the Stormwater Rate Plan.
The Rockdale County Stormwater Utility was created in 2005 to comply with federal requirements established by the Water Quality Act of 1987. The Utility was managed by the Planning & Development Department until February 2018, when the County created a separate Department of Stormwater Management. The department has been called to the forefront to focus on much needed improvements to the infrastructure from decades past.
“Stormwater infrastructure is everywhere, and it is very important as it affects all of our roadways,” said Adam Watts, Stormwater Engineer. “With Stormwater Management being an enterprise fund and separate from other County funding, we can assure the citizens the fee collected goes only toward keeping our roads safe by making sure our infrastructure is up to par.”
For more information, contact the Stormwater Management Department at 770-278-7155.