Carpentersville to pay higher water/sewer rates

If you live in Carpentersville, your water bill is going up come October.

But take heart. It could have been worse.

Last week, the village board heard the results of a five-year water and sewer rate study conducted by Baxter and Woodman Consulting Engineers that recommended rates go up even more than the board eventually approved to help pay for aging infrastructure and equipment.

The study concluded the current rate structure isn't enough to sustain the system and doesn't reflect the value of the services.

Under the “Scenario 2” proposition the board approved last week by a 4 to 2 vote:

Ÿ Starting in October, customers will be billed every other month, rather than quarterly.

Ÿ The current combined water and sewer rate of $6.55 per 1,000 gallons of water will climb to $7.72 in August. With the start of the 2013 fiscal year in May, the rate increases to $9.03, to $9.97 in fiscal year 2014, to $10.27 in fiscal year 2015 and to $10.58 in fiscal year 2016.

Ÿ Everyone will pay a $5 monthly surcharge to help cover the $550,000 cost of repainting and repairing the water tower on Randall Road. The $5 fee expires in fiscal year 2014.

Ÿ The average person who now pays $129 quarterly in combined water and sewer rates for 6,000 gallons of water, will pay $107 every other month for the same amount of water used.

Ÿ That price would increase to $123 in fiscal year 2013, to $130 in fiscal year 2014, to $134 in fiscal year 2015 and to $138 in fiscal year 2016.

The study warned that “failing to fund an annual capital program is gradual deterioration of infrastructure, which over time, will make service issues such as water main breaks, sewer backups, service outages and property damage more and more prevalent.”

As it is, the $750,000 deficit in the rapidly depleting water and sewer fund forced the village to lay off five public works employees, Finance Director Lisa Happ said.

The fee increases allow the village to save nearly $1.1 million annually to replace its water mains and $202,500 annually to rehabilitate its sanitary sewer system. Higher rates also will cover vehicle replacement and the possibility of adding staff.

“There's no guarantee that we're going to hire,” Village President Ed Ritter said.

The experts recommended a plan known as “Scenario 3” that would have raised rates a few dollars more, but generated nearly $1.5 million annually for the water main replacement project and $270,000 annually for the sanitary sewer program.

Pointing to the economy, some trustees said they could not support Scenario 3, especially in light of a recent tax levy increase the board imposed to help pay for a $20 million public works facility.

“We're really ... putting a lot of pressure on residents to come up with the money,” Trustee Paul Humpfer said.

But Ritter, Trustee Brad McFeggan and outgoing Trustee Judy Sigwalt supported Scenario 3.

Paying an expert $18,000 to make a recommendation and then defying it is counterproductive, Sigwalt said. Moreover, endorsing a smaller rate increase postpones the village's date with doom.

“There's so many people that see the glass half empty then there's those of us that see the glass half full,” Sigwalt said of the economy. “If we keep putting these crucial projects off, then we're going to be in trouble because we are going to have some major water issues that we won't have the money to fix.”