Athens City Council votes to increase rates for sewer bills by 3%
Athens City Council discussed an ordinance on Monday night that would increase the rates on residents’ sewer bills by up to 3% to fund the city's sewer system and keep sewer funding from going into a deficit. The ordinance prompted discussion among city council members who believed that an increase in rates was not needed at this time.
The city’s sewer system has a large cost of operation, ranging from $500,000 to $5 million, depending on what maintenance the system requires. The city of Athens currently pays a loan cost of $1.6 million annually to finance the sewer system.
“We never know when something is going to happen that might require more money to repair,” said City Auditor Kathy Hetch.
Without the rate increase, it is projected that by 2040 the city will have reached a deficit on the fund and could go into debt. However, Councilmember Alan Swank questioned the need to pass the ordinance this year, saying he is against the idea of raising rates during an election year with two levies on the ballot.
“These are two very, very important issues on the ballot,” Swank said. “Both of them are money issues.”
The levies Swank was referring to, if passed, would increase the budget of Emergency Medical Services by $1.5 million and would provide funding for the Athens City School District to build a new high school.
“Depending on the value of your property, or for renters, the value of the property you rent, there will be an increase in the amount of taxes if both of these pass,” Swank said.
While Swank supports both levies, he “does not feel comfortable with voting in the affirmative at this time.”
Councilmember Sam Crowl also took a moment to speak, though his opinion varied from Swank’s drastically.
“The raise is to keep us from getting into any problems in managing our waste,” Crowl said. “There are always unanticipated repairs and things that are needed. So I am comfortable with this 3% annual increase.”
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson echoed Crowl’s statement and added: “We must be fiscally responsible in this, and the increase is the responsible thing to do.”
Hetch pointed out that without the increase now, the city may be forced to make a much larger increase down the line to keep the sewer system running.
“As a citizen of this city, I don’t appreciate a zero percent increase this year just to have to double it next year,” Hetch said. “I think it’s much better to increase it gradually now.”
Hetch added that the cost of the budget would only continue to increase as the years went on due to higher costs of personnel, repairs and expansions.
“The budget gets a little more expensive every year,” Hetch said. “It’s hard to project specifically, but I do not see the budget going down or staying the same, and finally, I don’t think it’s appropriate for council to vote based on other entities. We need to do what’s right for the city.”
The council voted six to one on the issue, with Swank being the sole dissenter. Once in effect, the ordinance will amend current rates for residential buildings from $5.89 to $6.00. For commercial buildings rates will increase from $6.66 to $6.79, and rates for industrial buildings will see an increase from $7.34 to $7.49.
In other news:
The council discussed an ordinance to create a Community Reinvestment Council that would oversee the reinvestment of the Ridges as a Community Reinvestment Area. This was passed as a part of a 10-year plan for the Ridges.
The council voted to amend an ordinance that raised parking rates in certain areas around Athens. This was done due to inaccurate math, according to Council President Knisley. The motion passed in a 6-1 vote, with Councilmember Spjeldnes being the sole dissenter. The amended ordinance will be up for reading on November 20th.
