South Elgin to see water rate increase

The monthly water bill for the typical South Elgin household will increase by about $3.70 under a rate increase approved by trustees.

Overall, the rate per 1,000 gallons of water will rise on May 1 from $2.06 to $2.64.

Trustees Bill DiFulvio, Scott Richmond, John Sweet and Steve Ward voted in favor of the increase.

Trustees Linda Guess and Michael Kolodziej opposed it.

Village President Jim Hansen, who only votes to break a tie, supported the increase.

He said rate increases are never popular or fun, but it's important for the village to be proactive instead of reactive.

"That's not a huge increase, and over half of that is going into future repairs as our system is getting older," Hansen said.

Some communities in DuPage County that get their water from Lake Michigan pay more than $7 per 1,000 gallons.

Overall, the increase will generate about $400,000 to $500,000 that could be put in a fund for future repairs.

"If a major repair was needed, (the village) would have to borrow money and pay it back with interest and the rates would increase without choice," Skibley said.

With the rate change, the minimum a customer can be billed for is 2,000 gallons per month instead of 3,500 gallons.

Finally, a $5 credit for each month that a customer uses less than 2,000 gallons will be issued in a lump sum in June 2009.

Hansen said 10 to 11 percent of customers average less than 2,000 gallons and a maximum $60 carrot could encourage more conservation and help out single people and the elderly.

"We should reward them a little bit," he said. "It's still getting a rebate for doing nothing more."