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Council adopts new miscellaneous water and wastewater fees after consultant study; trip and after‑hours charges rise
Summary
After a Raftelis study, Brooksville approved updated miscellaneous utility fees — including meter and tap fees and increased trip/after‑hours turn‑on charges — to better recover labor, equipment and material costs.
The Brooksville City Council approved a set of updated miscellaneous water and wastewater fees May 19 following a consultant study by Raftelis. The fees cover one‑time customer‑requested services such as meter installations, service line work, meter taps and field trip charges for turn‑ons/offs.
Raftelis manager Mark Tuma presented the methodology used to calculate the fees: a build‑up of labor (staff time), vehicle/equipment hourly costs (using FEMA 2023 schedule rates) and material parts for each service. The consultant said many of the city’s miscellaneous charges had not been updated in more than 20 years and that current practice left the water/wastewater enterprise subsidizing customer‑requested services.
Selected changes cited in the presentation: a 5/8‑inch meter installation fee moving from $495 to $500 (meter and box cost around $397); a meter plus service‑line installation fee recommended at $2,005; a 5/8‑inch wastewater tap fee recommended at $1,260 (previously $350); customer trip charges and turn‑on/turn‑off fees were raised (regular hours turn‑on/turn‑off recommended $50 from $15; after‑hours turn‑on recommended to $100). Raftelis recommended tiered tampering penalties tied to meter size and multiple offenses.
City staff and the consultant stressed the revisions are intended to recover direct and allocated costs for the services, not to increase basic water consumption charges. The council approved the new fee schedule 5–0.
What to watch: staff will implement the schedule and provide updates; Raftelis recommended a re‑review of miscellaneous fees every three to five years to keep pace with labor and equipment cost changes.
