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Lucas County schedules three public hearings on proposed water, sewer and solid-waste rate changes
Summary
The Lucas County Board of County Commissioners authorized advertisement of three public hearings this June to consider revised water, sanitary sewer and solid-waste fees, including an evening meeting and multiple possible locations, and approved packaging the water/wastewater and solid-waste hearings together.
The Lucas County Board of County Commissioners on May 5 authorized advertisement of three public hearings in June to consider revisions to water, sanitary sewer and solid-waste fees, including one evening meeting to be held in a township facility.
County sanitary and solid-waste staff said the solid-waste fee is tied to a state requirement that there be three public hearings and that it made sense to hold three hearings for water and wastewater as well. "The solid waste fee is tied to a requirement, a state requirement that there be three public hearings," Sanitary Engineer Jim Shaw told the board.
Shaw said the administration is proposing three dates—two during regular meeting hours and one evening meeting—and discussed possible locations including the commissioners' hearing room, the county office and Springfield Township's meeting facility. "We're setting it up for Springfield Township in the evening," Shaw said, adding the county was proposing either 6 or 7 p.m. for that session.
The county said the water and wastewater rate proposals will be presented on a multi-year projection similar to prior adjustments, and that grant funding in recent years reduced the magnitude of increases needed. Shaw said the last solid-waste fee increase occurred in 2013 and the last water and wastewater increase was in 2019, and that the new proposal projects revenue over a four-year span.
Commissioners approved the package of items that included authorization to advertise the hearings and permission to enter a professional services agreement related to sanitary sewer work (see separate article). Following a motion to approve, the clerk called the roll and recorded affirmative votes.
The hearings will present the county's proposed rates and the effective dates for any changes; staff said specifics on the proposed percentage changes and effective dates will be presented at the public hearings. The board did not adopt rates at the May 5 meeting; it authorized advertising the hearings and scheduling them for June.
