 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Water rates may increase
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
© St. Petersburg Times, INVERNESS -- For the first time since 1989, rates for the county-owned water and sewer systems may be going up. Aside from bringing the rates up to date, the proposed increases would help the county pay for the $44.8-million in water and sewer projects slated for the next five years. A consultant will unveil a proposal at today's County Commission meeting to raise the rates. If commissioners accept the report by the Public Resources Management Group Inc., they would schedule a public hearing to discuss the proposed rates before voting on them. The consultant recommends implementing the new rates Oct. 1. "Part of the rate (increase) will help pay for the projects contained in our five-year capital improvements program, such as relocating the utility lines due to road widening," said county Utilities Division director Lou Badami. "Part (of the increase) is to bring them up to the current level." Under the proposal, the water rates would rise 7.5 percent for each of the next four years, although some of the county's 4,636 water customers will see greater increases than others. Unlike the current rates, which charge a flat 81 cents per 1,000 gallons, the proposed rates would encourage conservation by charging progressively higher prices to people who use more water. For example, customers who use less than 10,000 gallons of water per month would still pay 81 cents per 1,000 gallons next year. But customers using up to 20,000 gallons per month would pay $1.01 per 1,000, while customers using up to 30,000 gallons would pay $1.22 per 1,000, and so on. (The overall rates would also increase for the county's 67 customers at Eldorado Estates and 35 Laguna Palms users, although those customers would still pay a flat fee for every 1,000 gallons of water.) The steepest increase, however, would be for the county's 2,246 sewer customers, who would see a 20 percent increase in their overall rates for each of the next three years. The monthly base fee for sewer service would rise to $12.93 next year and $15.51 in 2003 for homes using the standard residential meter. The current fee is $12.52 per month. The 410 sewer customers in the southwestern part of the county, along with the 35 Laguna Palms customers and 22 South Dunnellon users, would also see rate increases. The consultant proposes increasing some of the utility's other service charges as well. The cost of installing a standard residential meter, for example, would rise from $125 to $228. The county has not updated the rates in 12 years because the utility system did not have enough customers to make such a review "economically feasible," County Commissioner Gary Bartell said Monday. But now the county has a water customer base pushing 5,000 and a slew of high-priced utilities projects over the next five years, he said. The county must spend about $16.1-million to move existing water and sewer lines to accommodate the widening of County Road 486, County Road 491 and Croft Avenue. Another $28.7-million is budgeted for upgrading the treatment plants and expanding water and sewer lines throughout the county. So far, the county has lined up $12-million in grants, leaving current and future customers to shoulder the rest of the $44.8-million in water and sewer projects through rates and connection fees. "With all the expansion projects we have on the table for water and sewer, we have to make these adjustments," Bartell said. "Otherwise, we will not be prepared for future growth."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
