Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sewer Charges And Growth topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County OKs 2.5% annual sewer rate increases through 2029; system recorded 2,120 new taps in 2024
Summary
The board approved a staff recommendation to raise Delaware County Regional Sewer District user charges by 2.5% annually through 2029. Finance and environmental services staff reported unusually high growth in new taps and capacity fee revenue for 2024.
Delaware County commissioners approved a staff recommendation to raise user charges for the Delaware County Regional Sewer District by 2.5% per year through 2029 during their Jan. 13 meeting. The board voted unanimously on the recommendation after a staff presentation on the district’s five-year financial forecast.
Justin Nave, the county’s director of finance, said the 2.5% annual increase was derived from a five-year forecast tied to the district’s capital improvement plan; staff said the increase is intended to support roughly $156,000,000 in capital costs through 2029. "These fees are a primary source to help support capital improvements, and we estimate they're going to be 156,000,000 in those costs through 2029," Nave said in his presentation.
Tiffany Mag (recorded in the transcript as Tiffany Mag), director of environmental services, said the modest, steady increases are intended to avoid a larger, more burdensome adjustment later. "Rate increases, which, like you said, they're very modest, and it really helps us from getting too far down the road and then having to do a significant increase, which can be a burden on the users," Mag said.
In the same presentation the county reported unusually strong growth in 2024: 2,120 new taps were added to the system, substantially above the budgeted 800 taps, generating about $16,700,000 in capacity fees for 2024, staff said. Of the 2,120 taps, staff reported 1,947 were residential (including 997 multi‑family taps and 945 single‑family taps) and about 173 were commercial. The sewer division also reported 19 new plans approved, 29 subdivider agreements accepted and 25 final acceptances through sewer installation processes in 2024.
Commissioners and staff noted the county’s rates remain modest compared with neighboring jurisdictions; staff referenced the City of Columbus's average increases over the past four years at about 4.5% for comparison. The board approved the rate amendment by recorded vote (Merrill Aye; Benton Aye; Lewis Aye).
Staff said the planned increases are intended to fund maintenance, capital projects and to preserve the utility’s debt ratings by ensuring steady revenue for long-term obligations.
