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Weaverville adopts updated fee schedules; public-works hourly rate raised and water fees adjusted
Summary
The council approved fee-schedule ordinances that raise some hourly public-works charges (council approved $45/hour for overtime-supported event work), standardize bulk-water sales at $25 per 500 gallons, adjust water-meter and recheck fees, rename meter-tampering language to comply with North Carolina law, and set an emergency water rate at cost-plus 10% (cost of production reported as $6.75/1,000 gal).
The Weaverville Town Council adopted updated fee-schedule ordinances at its June 8 workshop that revise rates across general, fire and waterfront/water fee schedules.
Staff explained the updates would implement symmetrical rounding for cash transactions, adjust copying and records-request costs (outsourcing large map requests), and update hourly equipment and personnel charges. Council Member Young advocated increasing the public-works hourly personnel rate to $45 to compensate for overtime costs associated with town-supported events; the council approved an amendment to raise the public-works hourly rate to $45 as part of the fee-schedule adoption.
On water-related fees, staff proposed charging a meter reread only when the meter is operational (to prevent charging customers where a meter is mechanically inoperable). The ordinance renames "meter tampering" to "interfering with water appliances or meters" and adds language to conform to North Carolina law on tampering and negligent or reckless damage; those negligent-damage charges will be assessed on a cost basis because costs vary widely. Bulk water sales will be sold in 500-gallon increments at $25 per 500 gallons. Staff presented an emergency-water rate of cost-of-production plus 10%; finance staff calculated the current cost of production at $6.75 per 1,000 gallons, which is the basis for the emergency rate calculation.
Council also discussed irrigation-rate consolidation and exemptions for fire-line and irrigation connections from water-system development fees (staff noted system-development fees of $2,750 per residential tap). The council adopted the fee-schedule ordinances by motion and voice vote; staff recorded the waterfront/water vote as part of the combined motion and noted one named council member voted no on related items during vote clarification.
The ordinances adopt higher user and equipment fees intended to better align the town’s internal cost accounting with the value of staff time and equipment deployed to support events and operations. Staff will publish the revised fee schedules and update billing systems accordingly.
