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Council OKs nearly 20% sewer-rate increase; debate centers on capital needs and fixed fees
Summary
The Common Council adopted an ordinance raising the variable sewer usage rate from $5.82 to $7.43 per CCF (leaving the fixed rate at $5.50), a change the city said is needed to fund capital repairs, flood-control applications and FEMA matches; some councilors and residents raised concerns about equity and billing clarity.
The Common Council voted Nov. 7 to increase the variable sewer usage rate from $5.82 to $7.43 per CCF while leaving the fixed monthly charge at $5.50, a package the city says will raise sewer revenue by about 19.88 percent.
Environmental Services interim administrator Steve Roberts and Director Vito (speaking to council questions) described the increase as a “catch-up” needed after years of deferred maintenance and short-term repairs that drew down reserves. Roberts cited projects the increase will support, including Headworks upgrades to reduce sanitary sewer overflows, a Tower Avenue sewer project that the city will bid in January and a flood-control program that has many pending applications.
“Part of the rate increase is to cover shorter-term capital projects that because we didn't have rate increases and because these were Band Aid fixes to the system, we had to do them,” Director Vito said. He told the council reserves had fallen from about $7.1 million to the high $3 millions between 2007 and 2011 because of those emergency fixes.
Council discussion highlighted tradeoffs. Councilor McKenzie said the increase was especially hard on families and businesses already dealing with prior increases; she opposed the measure. Councilor McDonald and others said delaying projects would likely cost more in the near term. Several councilors suggested voting on individual projects rather than a single omnibus increase so members could accept some projects and reject others. Councilor McKenzie said projects such as backwater valve subsidies or the Tower Avenue sewer could be considered separately.
Two members of the public urged the council to reconsider the fixed-fee structure, saying fixed charges can be regressive and unfairly burden low-income residents and multi-meter landlords. One resident said combining fixed and variable fees for stormwater was done earlier and urged a similar review for sewer billing.
After public comment and debate, the council approved the ordinance increasing the variable rate; the ordinance was adopted by voice vote and recorded as carried.
