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City official: PUC allowed larger sewer-rate increase; H2O assistance and sale to PA American limit tax impact
Summary
A city official (name not provided) said state regulators allowed a larger sewer-rate increase than expected and urged eligible residents to enroll in the H2O assistance program to offset higher bills.
A city official (name not provided) told the meeting that the state utility regulator allowed a larger sewer-rate increase than the city expected and urged residents who may qualify to sign up for the H2O assistance program.
The official said, “The PUC allowed for a larger increase than I was hoping they were going to allow for, but, that's the state regulators, and we can't really do anything about that.” The official added that at least 5,000 people in York City are eligible for the H2O program but that “probably less than a thousand have signed up so far,” and called the program “free money” that can offset some of the sewer bill increases.
Why it matters: higher sewer rates increase household utility costs for many residents; enrollment in H2O or similar assistance programs can reduce bills for qualifying households. The official also framed the earlier sale of the sewer system to PA American as a factor that limited local property-tax increases.
Details and attribution: the official said the city sold its sewer collection system and wastewater treatment plant to PA American and asserted that, without that sale, residents would have faced much larger tax increases: “if we had not taken the steps of selling the the sewer collection system and the wastewater treatment plant, to PA American, you would be facing you would have been facing in that year, you were facing 48% tax increases. By now, it would probably be 80% tax increases,” the official said. Those remarks are the official—s characterization of fiscal consequences; no independent cost analysis was presented at the meeting.
The official urged eligible residents to visit the city website and apply for the H2O program to receive discounts or rebates that offset part of the increase.
No formal vote or ordinance on sewer rates occurred during the meeting; the official attributed the rate action to state regulators (PUC) and described enrollment in the assistance program as the primary mitigation available to residents.
