New look, fees for water and sewer bills

Water and sewer utility bills reflecting the rate increases approved recently by the Hampshire village board will start arriving in residents' mailboxes in the coming month.

The village board in May approved a 14-percent increase for water rates and a 16-percent increase in its sewer rates. Beginning with bills sent out in July, residents will pay $4 per 1,000 gallons of water used for water - up from $3.50 per 1,000 gallons - and $5 for every 1,000 gallons of water used for the sewer charges. That rate is up from $4.30 per 1,000 gallons.

But residents will no longer pay a minimum usage fee on top of the increased rates. As an incentive for residents to use less water, the village has eliminated a minimum usage fee that had residents paying $12.25 for the first 5,000 gallons of water. Now, residents will pay for what they use,

In addition to the new rates, residents will also notice a different format for the bills. Customers will now receive a statement in an envelope that includes a return envelope.

That's because the village board approved the outsourcing of its utility billing to Naperville-based Third Millennium to print and mail bills.

While the new system will cost the village about 20 cents more per statement, the manpower and employee time needed to collate and organize billing statements was becoming too burdensome for the village's small staff, Village Administrator Eric Palm said.

The village will collect the readings and then send the results to Third Millennium. Previously, the utility clerk, Carol Stiegman would take care of more than 2000 bills per cycle.

The number of billing cycles has also changed. Instead of receiving four bills a year, residents will now see six bills a year - or every two months instead of every three months.

Village officials said the more frequent billing cycle will allow residents to pay smaller amounts, as opposed to four larger amounts per year. The village will also benefit from receiving revenue on a more regular basis to repay debts and pay staff.

The new bills and rates will hit mailboxes beginning in July.

Longmeadow plan: When McHenry County projects were given the green light from the state as part of the $29 billion spending plan passed by the Senate, the Western Bypass in Algonquin was one of the top recipients.

The project, which would construct a bypass around the gridlocked area of Route 31 and Route 62 in Algonquin's downtown, was in line for $80 million, almost enough to completely fund the road.

That left some readers wondering if the bypass' construction would negate the need for the proposed Longmeadow Parkway toll bridge through southern McHenry and norther Kane counties.

The answer is no. Local officials say the two projects together are considered critical to alleviating the traffic flow problems in the area. One project - the Algonquin Bypass - moves traffic north and south, while the other - Longmeadow Parkway - sends traffic in an east-west direction, and across the Fox River.