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Water hookup costs may rise
By WILL VAN SANT BROOKSVILLE -- With water consumption on the rise and the county utility system facing growth, the County Commission today will consider raising connection fees for new development. Put forward by Utilities Department Director Kay Adams, the proposal entails the first connection fee increases since 1994. The findings of a private consultant hired to evaluate current water demand and the system's future workload were used to craft the plan. The consultant, Gary Morse, found that at times of highest demand, households are consuming more utility system capacity than is paid for under the existing fee structure. Rather than basing fees on the current 250 gallons per household per day during periods of peak use, Morse recommends using 350 gallons. Those 100 extra gallons translate into a hookup cost of $930, as opposed to the current $525. Wastewater consumption is also up, Morse found. Consequently, sewer service connections under the proposal would increase from $1,600 per household to $2,430, based on 280 gallons of water use a day, as opposed to the current 200. "We are using more capacity than we used to," Adams said. "We certainly need to bring our fees up to current levels." In recent years, connection fees have generated between $900,000 to $1.5-million for the Utilities Department annually. The increases are expected to bring in an additional $430,000 a year. That extra money is needed, Adams said, to drill new wells and build additional water storage and transmission capacity to deal with coming development. The proposed increases are to be effective July 1, allowing developers and builders to finish work on existing jobs contracted on the basis of the old connection fee amounts, Adams said. She said area builders put up no real opposition to the plan but had asked for the delay in enacting the fees, which she willingly granted. Commissioner Diane Rowden said she would support the increases, comparing them to adjusting impact fees to compensate for the growing burden of development on county services. "It's the same principle," Rowden said. "You got to have these tools in place to recoup the loss as you have growth down the road." Also in support is Commissioner Nancy Robinson, who said newcomers should be responsible for expansion to the utility network. "If you don't make the move, you won't have the infrastructure in place," she said, "or the burden will fall on existing residents." Robinson predicted the fees would do little to dissuade developers from choosing other counties rather than Hernando. In Pasco County, water connection costs $556; sewer $1,500. In Citrus, the figures are $1,723 and $3,165 respectively. "There are other areas around us that have connection fees that are as high if not higher," she said, "and it has not slowed growth there." -- Will Van Sant covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to vansant@sptimes.com
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