Archived story
As originally published
Demorest City Council unanimously chose a cost-of-service allocation structure for 2026 water rates on Jan. 6, ending a monthlong pause over how the city would assign water-system costs. The 4-0 vote adopted what the meeting minutes call “Alternative 2,” but it left the central household question unanswered: the minutes do not state what customers will pay or when any new charges would begin.
The decision matters because water service is a recurring expense for Demorest households and businesses, and a cost-of-service approach can distribute system costs differently by customer class or level of use. Until the city publishes the actual rate schedule, customer categories, usage tiers and effective date, residents cannot tell whether their individual bills would rise, fall or stay the same under the framework.
The council first took up 2026 water rates Dec. 2, when the agenda listed the item and the council instead voted 4-0 to table it for further review. Habersham News had reported before that meeting that the council was expected to consider adopting the rates. The later Jan. 6 action replaced that delay with a choice of method, but the official minutes still did not attach the dollar figures needed to show its practical effect.
For the council, the recorded position was unanimous support for Alternative 2, the cost-of-service allocation method. Water customers are the people most directly affected, but the minutes identify no rate amounts, customer classes or tiers that would allow households, businesses or high- and low-volume users to calculate their share. The record also does not document a competing council proposal or public arguments for or against the chosen structure.
Alternative 2 is an adopted framework, not merely a proposal. Implementation remains uncertain: the Jan. 6 minutes do not establish that Demorest has begun billing under it, that bills changed, or whether another council action is required before specific charges take effect. Separately, Habersham News reported that the council was scheduled to consider an amended water-and-sewer fee structure on second reading May 5; that report does not establish what the council did at that meeting.
The next meaningful public step is an official rate schedule or council action that sets the charges and effective date. That would answer the questions still open after January: which customers and usage levels the structure covers, what each will pay, when billing could change and whether further approval is needed. Until then, Demorest has selected the way costs will be allocated without publicly providing the details that determine a customer’s bill.