Batavia poised to charge more for water
Batavia utility customers will likely pay more for their water and sanitary sewer service starting in May.
But the creation of a stormwater utility, and charges for stormwater handling, are not being included in the planning, so far, for the 2016 budget.
Aldermen reviewed a proposal Tuesday to increase water usage charges 3 percent, and sanitary sewer usage charges 6 percent.
An official vote has not been scheduled, but is expected in the next several weeks. Batavia' fiscal year starts Jan. 1. City administrators have recommended consumption charges be increased each of the next five years.
They are also recommending an increase in charges to connect to the water and sanitary sewer systems, saying some of the rates have not been raised in 30 years.
As part of the report on the rates, public works director Gary Holm included a table about the water and sewer bills in 2015 for 15 elected officials. The table did not list them by name. It showed their monthly average combined sewer and water bill, and what those bills would be if calculated using the new rates. The lowest average bill was $33.49; the highest, $156.73.
The average increase would amount to 11 cents per day on their bills.
The usage rates pay for the operations of the water and sanitary sewer systems, including maintenance, repairs and replacements. There is another charge on water bills that goes to a fund for structural improvements. That could include upgrading the plant to meet stricter pollution controls mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, and expanding it to take on increased volume.
Alderman Marty Callahan said people often ask him why the rates are increasing, and want to know what is being done with the money.
Finance director Peggy Colby said a 3 percent increase in the water usage rates will generate about $126,000 a year for the utility. She compared that to the replacement in 2014 of a water main on a two-block stretch of Houston Street and one block of Water Street downtown, which cost nearly $600,000.
The city estimates that the average monthly sewer and water bill for a family of five would rise from $100 now to $127 by 2020.
Holm said staff members will be asking for money in the 2016 budget to finish studying the feasibility of creating a stormwater utility.