City hears proposal to increase sewer rates
As promised, Marion City Administrator Dave Mayfield told commission members he would present a proposal to increase sewer rates.
Last week, Mayfield and Harvey Sanders, director of public utilities, told commissioners large sections of the city's sewer system was "gone." Concrete had been used to build sewer lines during World War II, and over the years sewer gas had "eaten up" much of the lines.
Mayfield said the last time sewer rates were addressed was 15 years ago, in August 1988.
"I did a comparison with Peabody and Hillsboro and found we are behind in revenues from our rate structure as compared to theirs," Mayfield said.
Marion's current sewer rate is $9 for the base rate and $.90 per thousand gallons of water. Peabody's base rate is $17.90, while Hillsboro's is $20.
Mayfield recommended raising sewer rates to $12, and the thousand-gallon rate to $1.20 per thousand.
"This would bring our average customer rate in line with other surrounding rates and would allow for replacing sewer lines," he said. "This rate increase would be about $4 per month for the average customer."
An average use is 5,000 gallons per month. With the new rate structure, the average per month charge would be around $18, Mayfield said.
Rates would need to increase now in order to generate the needed revenue to begin replacing sewer lines next year, Mayfield said.
Mayfield said the sewer department has not been self-supporting for some time, and that's not taking the replacement of sewer lines into consideration. He said the electrical department was supporting the sewer department.
"This is a necessary evil because we can't continue to operate at a deficit," Mayfield said.
The city's capital reserve plan calls for the replacement of two blocks of sewer lines beginning in 2004. The cost of replacing a two-block sewer line is $45,000.
City Attorney Dan Baldwin said he and Mayfield would review and update the current ordinance and come back with something for commissioners to review.
