Atlanta council backs Starbucks boycott, eases water bills

The Atlanta City Council voted 11-3 on Monday, Oct. 19, to endorse a boycott of Starbucks until the company signs a union contract with its baristas. At the same meeting, the council voted 15-0 for two changes that matter more to most households: a way to get credit for an unexplained spike on a water bill, and a three-month window for the Department of Watershed Management to settle disputed balances.

The votes are recorded in the council’s final draft action minutes for the Oct. 19 meeting.

Water bills: a credit for spikes nobody can explain

Until now, the city’s Water and Sewer Appeals Board could not give a customer a credit for a one-month spike that had no explanation. The ordinance says so plainly. On several occasions, it says, the board found evidence that a spike was a city error, not real usage, but had no power to grant relief. That is from the text of Ordinance 26-O-1545, adopted as substituted by the City Utilities Committee.

The new “recorded usage spike” credit has a high bar. A customer must show the board all of the following:

• 12 months of steady usage before the spike, with no bill more than 150% of the 12-month average
• three months of steady usage after the spike, measured the same way
• an inspection by a licensed plumber or leak detection specialist within 30 days of the bill’s due date, finding no leak
• a spike of more than 300% of normal usage
• no seasonal pattern behind it, such as summer irrigation

If the board finds a city error, the credit is the recorded usage minus 150% of normal usage. A customer can get one such credit every 18 months.

The credit is temporary. The ordinance says the city is moving to smart meters (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) that report usage hourly or more often. The spike credit ends once those meters are fully in place.

A three-month window to settle disputed balances

The second water measure, Ordinance 26-O-1564, backs the department’s Flexible Levels, Options, & Affordable Terms program, called F.L.O.A.T. Its first phase runs Nov. 1, 2026, through Jan. 31, 2027.

For those three months, the watershed commissioner may adjust single-family residential accounts “for any period of time, in any amount” to resolve a dispute over a delinquent account or an outstanding balance. The ordinance says single-family homes are the largest group of delinquent accounts. It says the program may also lead to field visits to fix meter problems and billing errors.

Starbucks: an endorsement, and no Starbucks on council funds

Resolution 26-R-4188 was sponsored by council members Kelsea Bond, Antonio Lewis, Michael Julian Bond and Liliana Bakhtiari. It endorses the boycott called by Workers United-SEIU. It asks residents and neighboring councils not to buy Starbucks products until the company finalizes a union contract. The title of the amended version, as printed in the minutes, also encourages the City of Atlanta to refrain from buying them.

The resolution also commits the council itself. Starbucks products are not to be bought with Atlanta City Council funds for meetings, conferences or official events while the boycott lasts.

The resolution says baristas at the Howell Mill Road store won Starbucks Workers United’s first union election in Atlanta in 2022. Workers have since won 13 union elections in Georgia, it says, representing nearly 250 workers.

The vote, from the minutes:

Wan first moved to file the resolution, which would have shelved it. That motion failed 3-12. The minutes note that Martin “stated that he was a stakeholder with Starbucks.”

A resolution states the council’s position. It does not change city law.

Two more decisions

• Armed drones and robots. By 15-0, the council adopted Ordinance 26-O-1562, as substituted on the floor. Its title says it sets procedures for the council to consider any purchase of weapon-equipped autonomous or remotely operated machines, whatever the price, and “establish[es] human authority over lethal technology.”
• Tree fees for affordable homes. By 13-1, it adopted Ordinance 26-O-1503. It removes some conditions builders must meet to have required tree recompense reduced or waived for affordable for-sale homes. Kelsea Bond voted no.

What it means for you

• A strange water bill? If one month jumped to more than three times your normal usage and nothing else changed, keep the bill and get a plumber’s or leak specialist’s report within 30 days of the due date. You will need 12 months of bills before and three months after to take it to the appeals board.
• Behind on a water bill, or disputing a balance? The F.L.O.A.T. window opens Nov. 1 and closes Jan. 31, 2027. It applies to single-family homes.
• The Starbucks vote changes nothing about where you can buy coffee. It is the council’s stated position and a rule for its own spending.

Phone numbers for the Department of Watershed Management and other city offices are on our City Hall contacts page.