No hike in water rates in Carpentersville until next year

For Carpentersville residents expecting their water and sewer bills in the coming weeks, there's some good news. The village will revert back to the old rate for this cycle.

Although the village board approved a 7 percent water and sewer rate hike back in September, the board and the audit and finance commission decided the retroactive billing of water usage was unfair.

So, earlier this month, the finance panel voted to wait until the new year to introduce the higher rates. Customers billed at the 7 percent increase will receive a credit on their next bill.

The credit will only affect residents on the west side. Since the village uses three billing cycles, residents in Old Town and on the east side had not received their latest bills before the village went back to the old rate.

Until Jan. 1, water rates will cost residents $2.49 per 1,000 gallons used, while sewer will cost $2.76 per 1,000 gallons used. After the new year, those rates will increase to $2.66 per 1,000 gallons and $2.95 per 1,000 gallons, respectively.

Finance director Lisa Happ estimated the credits would cost the village about $43,000.

Committee controversy

The village board Tuesday night created an ad hoc committee charged with developing the guidelines for the Carpentersville Improvement Committee.

It might have been a unanimous vote, but don't let that fool you into believing it was a smooth decision.

Trustees argued that Village President Bill Sarto's exclusion of Trustee Judy Sigwalt, an early sponsor of the committee, was an affront against the senior board member.

So, for an hour Tuesday, trustees and the village president bickered over the makeup of the group. Trustees advocated for Sigwalt's addition to the group since she had worked on the idea with Trustee Kay Teeter and resident Patricia Schultz for months.

But Sarto refused to budge because trustees had directed him to appoint three residents and two trustees. He said the board's assumption that Sigwalt would automatically be appointed was a misconception on the board's part.

For now, Sigwalt will serve as a consultant to the group, with the possibility of being appointed to the improvement committee later on.

Although the exact nature of the committee is still undetermined, trustees on Tuesday night appointed residents Adam Ruiz, Patricia Schultz and Karen Sutter, as well as Trustees Kay Teeter and Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski to the ad hoc committee.

You can still help

Today is the last day of Piece-of-Cake Bakery's Cupcakes for a Cause drive.

The East Dundee bakery, located at 304 N. River St., is donating 50 cents from each sale of red velvet, carrot, chocolate and vanilla cupcakes to the CancerCare for Kids organization.

The group provides free, professional support services to nearly 1,500 children and their families who are affected by cancer each year.