Higher sewer rates to take effect soon

Washington residents will soon see a dramatic increase in their utility bills. The Washington City Council voted 5-1 to approve the third and final reading of an ordinance to raise water and sewer rates. The vote occurred at the council?s meeting Wednesday night. Councilors Mike Roth, Merlin Hagie, Karen Wilson-Johnson, Fred Stark and Russ Zieglowsky voted in favor of the ordinance while Bob Shepherd voted against it.

The new rates will take effect as soon as they are printed in The Journal. The new rates will appear on residents? bills in August.

There was little debate about the ordinance prior to the vote. Shepherd, who was acting as mayor pro tempore in the absence of Mayor Sandra Johnson, said before the vote he wanted to wait until a cash flow analysis had been performed on the city?s debt repayment plan.

At a special session on June 22, the council heard a presentation from Jenny Blankenship of Public Financial Management (PFM) Inc. Blankenship told the council her firm would be willing to perform a cash flow analysis for the city to determine if its sewer rate increases would cover the expense of building a new sewer facility. The council formally hired PFM to perform that service Wednesday.

Every resident?s base sewer fee will at least double. Residences and businesses pay a base fee of $17.50 per month while multi-family dwellings pay $12 per month. Residential and multi-family base fees will jump to $35.

The base fee will be $35 for businesses that use up to 1,400 cubic feet of water. Businesses that use between 1,400 and 15,000 cubic feet will pay a base charge of $70. The next tier, from 15,000 to 100,000, will pay $140 as a base rate and any business using more than 100,000 cubic feet will pay $280.

The variable sewer rate, based on consumption, will rise 176 percent from $1.27 per 100 cubic feet of water used to $3.50.

Water rates will also increase but not as sharply. Water rates will rise 10 percent from $1.87 to $2.06 on those who use between 0 and 1,400 cubic feet of water. The rate will rise 15 percent, from $1.76 to $2.02 for those consuming between 1,400 and 15,000, and 20 percent, from $1.52 to $1.82, for those consuming between 15,000 and 100,000. Those who consume more than 100,000 cubic feet of water will see an increase of 25 percent, from $1.20 to $1.50. The water service charge will increase from $9.50 to $12.

The ordinance increases the garbage and recycling fee from $2.35 to $4.35 per month. This fee applies only to residential customers.

When the expenses are all added together, residential customers will pay at least $20 more and many will pay $30 or $40 more in utilities per month. A residential customer who now uses 100 cubic feet of water per month pays about $33. Under the new rates, the customer will pay $56. Someone who uses 400 cubic feet pays $43, and that will jump to $73 under the proposal. A resident who uses 700 cubic feet will see their bill go from $53 to $90. Those who consume 1,000 cubic feet will pay $44 more in utilities, from $63 to $107.

Later in the meeting, City Engineer Rob McDonald showed the council a video from a sewer camera the city tested out. The city sent the camera down one of its sewer lines under Van Buren Street to see if there were any leaks, and the camera found some. Storm water leaks into the sewer line, which means the sewer plant is treating water it doesn?t need to treat. Shepherd said stopping the infiltration of storm water into the sewer system is critical. McDonald said the total cost of the camera and the trailer it?s mounted on is $85,000. He said it would be an improvement over the city?s current sewer camera.

The council approved the sale of its GPS equipment for $6,000 to Geodetic Consulting Services, and at the same time approved the purchase of new GPS equipment for about $11,400 from Precision Midwest. Hagie said the decision was a ?no-brainer.?

The council approved a request from the Washington County Fair Board to help build the Motocross Track using one of the city?s endloaders.

The council approved the first reading of an ordinance to establish a TIF area for Insurance on the Avenue on North Iowa Avenue.