COVINGTON, Ga.- City of Covington officials have approved a nine-figure deal with Amazon Web Services to build a massive data center that city officials say could eliminate property taxes for residents.  

The proposed Amazon development follows a two-million square foot Meta data center that was built at Stanton Springs in Social Circle in 2018. These projects have cemented Newton County’s role as a major player in Georgia’s growing digital infrastructure expansion.  

Covington is a rural town of 15,833 residents situated 35 miles east of Atlanta in Newton County that has become an attractive site for large-scale data centers due to its affordable land and economic development incentives.  

One of the major concerns raised by residents is the water and electricity consumption that would be required to run the facility.  

In response to these concerns, Covington City Manager Tres Thomas assures that the city has imposed water-use restrictions as a condition of the agreement.  

“The city is not the power provider for the Amazon facility that is currently being built, but we do supply the water,” Thomas said. “As a condition for allowing Amazon to move forward, they are required to use non-potable water supplied by a water reuse system that hasn’t been constructed.” 

The reuse system is currently in the design phase, with an estimated completion date of 2028. It will be owned and operated by One Water and is projected to cost $180 million. Amazon is providing a $100 million grant for the system’s construction, with an additional $80 million coming through the first five years of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement to fund the project, according to Thomas. 

“The reuse system will ensure that the water supply is not adversely affected,” Thomas said.  

The financial implications of the deal have also sparked discussion.  

Mayor Fleeta Baggett has proposed a deal that would eliminate property taxes for Covington residents through a 100% homestead exemption and instead cover the city’s expenses through revenue from the Amazon data center. According to the City of Covington’s Fiscal Year 2024 report, the city brought in $8,178,155 in property tax revenue.    

The proposal, if implemented, would restructure how Covington funds its government. Instead of relying on taxpayers for a significant share of municipal revenue, the city would depend heavily on large-scale developments like the one proposed by Amazon.  

Mayor Bagget did not respond to request for comment regarding her proposal. 

However, Thomas reinforced that the projected revenue from Amazon would counterbalance eliminated revenue from residential homestead-exempt taxpayers. 

“The projected revenue from Amazon is staggering and will easily offset the eliminated revenue,” he said. 

Thomas said the additional income will support multimillion-dollar projects already underway and help fund staffing increases across city departments. 

“The city has many multimillion-dollar projects that are proposed or underway,” he said. “We have augmented staff significantly over the last two to three budget cycles. For the upcoming budget cycle, 15 departments have requested job title reclassifications, new positions, or a combination of both. The extra revenue will help us fund these expenses.” 

The debate unfolding in Covington reflects a broader trend across Georgia. Communities across the state, both large and small, are being approached by developers seeking land for data centers. 

In Cobb County, resident Avery Davis is watching the rapid expansion with concern. 

“It’s not just Covington,” Davis said. “Our water all across Georgia is going to be used up and then our power bills are probably going to go up like crazy because we’re trying to fund these data centers,” she said.  

As companies search for large plots of affordable land to build on, Davis said she worries about environmental justice implications of data center expansion.  

“We live in such a world where we can just turn on the faucet and we get water, but we don’t realize that water is not endless. These centers are often placed in low-income neighborhoods, and the people with higher income will benefit from the data plants, but not have to face the negative effects of them,” Davis said. 

Her concerns echo those of residents in Newton County who feel that economic development decisions can disproportionately affect local neighborhoods.  

Thomas described the Amazon deal as a fiercely negotiated, multi-year effort designed to protect city resources and residents.  

“For one to two years, the team worked tirelessly to ensure that city resources would be protected,” he said. “We pushed hard against Amazon during the negotiation process. Our elected officials were updated throughout the process so that the final agreements presented at the last council meeting of 2025 were approved without question or controversy.” 

He acknowledged, however, that not everyone supports the project. 

“City representatives feel good about the Amazon development,” Thomas said. “Not everyone inside the community and outside the city limits feel this way.” 

As Covington breaks ground on the Amazon data center, the city stands at a crossroads. How the city balances revenue growth and tax revenue restructuring with maintaining infrastructure may determine its future in Georgia’s data center boom.