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Letter to the editor

Utility bills going up Oct. 1 in Clearwater

Fee increases have been okayed for three services, and hikes are expected for two others.

By MIKE DONILA
Published July 10, 2007

Property taxes in Clearwater might be going down. But fees for basic utilities are going up.

The City Council has raised fees or is poised to do so in five areas: water, sewer, garbage pickup, recycling and stormwater.

Some of those fees will increase again next year, too.

City Manager Bill Horne insists the hikes aren't a response to a recent legislative mandate that all local governments reduce property tax collections and shave their spending.

"This had nothing to do with it whatsoever," Horne said. "It has to do with ensuring we have enough revenue to provide the service and to maintain the infrastructure."

The changes mean the average city resident will pay a little more than $38 in increased fees in the upcoming fiscal year.

The City Council already has approved price hikes for water and sewer services, as well as stormwater fees to start Oct. 1. Later this month, the council is expected to sign off on increases for solid waste, or garbage pickup, and recycling.

All five services are "enterprise funds," meaning they're supposed to be self-supported mostly through fee payments. The scheduled hike will raise resources for those utilities a combined total of $4.6-million - a 4.4 percent increase.

Nonetheless, the fee hike will benefit the city's operational fund, which is what is being hit by the rollback in property taxes. The city requires enterprise funds to pay 5.5 percent of their gross earnings from the prior year into the general fund.

The scheduled fee hikes will translate into about a $255,000 increase in transfers to the city's operational fund in 2010.

That's small change compared with the $6-million less in property taxes the city expects to collect next year.

Horne said the city conducts a utility rate study every five years for its various departments, but Clearwater made few infrastructure improvements during the 1990s. The additional fee revenues will go toward such improvements and covering the utilities' increasing costs, such as higher insurance rates and pension contributions, he said.

Horne has proposed cutting the city's property tax rate about 15.5 percent next year in response to the state's mandate.

Under the proposed rate, a resident who owns a home with an assessed value of $150,000 and a $25,000 homestead exemption will pay $550 in city taxes in 2008, assuming the assessed value hasn't increased. That represents a $100 savings for the homeowner over 2007.

Fast Facts:

Rates on the rise

Monthly fees for five Clearwater utilities are expected to increase Oct. 1:

Water

Current: $12.03

New rate: $12.75

Percent change: 6%

Change since 1997: 85%

Sewer

Current: $16.53

New rate: $17.52

Percent change: 6%

Change since 1997: 86%

Stormwater

Current: $9.91

New rate: $10.50

Percent change: 6%

Change since 1997: 250%

Solid waste

Current: $20.65

New rate: $21.48

Percent change: 4%

Change since 1997: 32%

Recycling

Current: $1.95

New rate: $2.01

Percent change: 3%

Change since 1997: -2%

[Last modified July 9, 2007, 22:08:02]