C'Ville trustees may hold off on rate hikes

If you've visited the Carpentersville village Web site or perused the latest newsletter, you could be forgiven for thinking the village is considering a 7 percent water and sewer rate increase.

But don't fret.

Village officials are not talking about implementing another 7 percent increase this year. Instead, trustees are considering giving residents a reprieve from paying the higher rates.

"We are proposing making the rate changes effective for water consumed after Jan. 1," Finance Director Lisa Happ said. "The new rates won't hit bills until April."

Trustees will vote on the changes at an unspecified board meeting in November.

Village officials say the rate increases are needed to cover the operational costs of the water department and to pay off debt.

Though the village board had approved increases for the water and sewer rates in September, trustees retracted the changes after a resident complained of unfair billing practices.

The problem, board members and residents agreed, was that the village was retroactively applying the higher rates to water used during the peak summer watering months.

About a third of the village's residential water users and all commercial consumers received bills in October reflecting the 7 percent increase for water used between June 10 and Sept. 10.

Village trustees likely will approve credits for those customers, Village Manager Craig Anderson said.

The credits will cost the village about $43,000.

"If we don't do it this way, we will be in the same boat as we were before, because there are people who are using water now who don't know that they will be billed at the higher rate," Anderson said. "That's the way the board wanted to go and not make it retroactive."

While residents will benefit from the delay in applying the rate increases, Happ said holding off will hurt the village's bottom line.

"These are revenues that we won't realize," Happ said. "The credits equal $43,000, but I estimate the unrealized revenues at $118,000."

Since the village has three billing cycles, residents on the west side of town and commercial users will see the new rates on the April bill, Happ said. Old Town and east-side residents will pay the higher rates in the subsequent months.