Fulton County reviews water billing records amid dispute with Atlanta

Fulton County will review and verify water billing records for six major utility accounts that the City of Atlanta says are delinquent.

Finance Director Sharon Whitmore said county staff met with city of Atlanta staff on May 28. Atlanta agreed to provide billing and payment data dating back to 2008 because that is the time period for which they have information.

Atlanta previously sent a spreadsheet showing outstanding accounts and claims, but without invoices or invoices. The county requested a full accounting of the invoices.

Whitmore said once staff validates the records, Atlanta and Fulton will review the results together. Whitmore said she expects the review process to be completed within the next two weeks.

Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington said he had hoped the deadline would be reduced to four or seven years. He estimates that under city policies the maximum possible would be seven years, which is also state law.

Arrington said narrowing the scope would have reduced the amount of work Whitmore staff must do to reconcile the city’s data with county records.

County Attorney Soo Jo said it’s her understanding that the largest amount of debt the city claims to owe Fulton appears to predate all records they have and may go back further than what the city can legally collect.

Finance personnel review records to look for overpayments or invoices for properties they do not own or have never owned. Whitmore said they wanted to look back past the statute of limitations because the county might have some credits.