Toledo council debates winter averaging, pool credit and expanded customer aid as sewer bills spike

Toledo City Council and Department of Public Utilities officials spent more than an hour on July 8 discussing whether to reinstate, alter or abandon 'winter sewer averaging' and how to respond to higher summer sewer bills.

The discussion centered on two near-term proposals: a one-time $50 sewer credit for residents who fill private pools between May 1 and July 31, and an internal review of winter averaging that staff said they will complete with the city

rate consultant by year end. Department of Public Utilities Director Doug Stevens described the proposed pool credit as a narrowly targeted approach: residents would apply online, provide the service address and DPU account number and meet eligibility rules (resident customers only; no commercial pools). "We'd give a $50 credit on anyone who filled up a pool one time a year between May 1 and July 31," Stevens told council members. "You have to be a City of Toledo water and sewer customer because the credit is on the sewer…