The mayor and the city council of Milledgeville unofficially agreed this week to water and sewer system rate increases, a phase-in period for the higher charges, and the effective date of the changes.
Council members met in the second work session of the month this past Tuesday night, with all six aldermen as well as Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan present. The decisions are unofficial since no formal vote was taken Tuesday night or at the Jan. 16 work session.
City Manager Hank Griffeth shared with the four council members present on Jan. 16 a chart with data prepared by an engineering firm in connection with needed water and sewer rate increases. Based on projected expenditures, including major repairs and capital improvement projects, and existing revenue, that report concluded that a 35-percent hike is needed.
That chart detailed rates needed to provide the necessary income, and, while those present agreed that the rate adjustment was necessary, it was the consensus of the group that such an increase at one time would be too much for customers to absorb.
Griffeth suggested a three-year phase-in for the higher fees, and there were no objections voiced. Council member Steve Chambers, however, asked for the numbers on a two-year phase-in as well, and Griffeth provided both options Tuesday evening for the full council’s consideration.
The other factor was the effective date of the increases. Griffeth expressed his desire at the first work session, and on Tuesday night, for the new rates to take effect on April 1. The subsequent discussion touched on various concerns but focused on notification to customers.
Topics included the phase-in period, the effective date of the rate increase, and notification to customers of the forthcoming hike. As to notification alternatives, council members suggested the use of a marketing firm, letters in water bills, and sending out a consumer report with a brochure explaining the need for and planned use of the additional funds.
The city manager then posed a question.
“Am I hearing a consensus of a three-year phase-in to begin July 1?”
No one answered in the negative, and Griffeth said an ordinance would be drawn up to that effect as soon as possible and notification planning began.
Parham-Copelan said after the meeting that waiting until July 1 would be helpful for customers.
“My thoughts are that we need to start educating the public so that they’ll understand why we’re making the change, and it would give them time to prepare for the rate increase.”
In his analysis of the new rate structure, Griffeth said he used only three sizes of water meters, as they represent the vast majority of system customers: 0.75-inch, 1-inch, and 1.5-inch.
“That’s about 80 percent of the meters we have in the ground,” he said. “Those are all residential meters, a few small commercial meters.”
Currently, all meters cost the same, regardless of size. Further, the initial 3,000 gallons of water is included in that base meter charge.
Under the proposed plan, no water is included in the meter charge, and the meter cost will increase significantly with a bigger size. Meters of all sizes now cost $12.89 monthly. In the future, the monthly charge for a 0.75-inch meter will increase to $17.31, but a 12-inch meter, for example, will jump to $1,193.71.
According to the figures Griffeth shared Tuesday, a customer with a 0.75-inch meter who uses up to 3,000 gallons pays $25.78 a month now.
If the new rate is adopted, that same customer will pay a minimum charge of $52.65 for 1,000 gallons. What previously was the minimum 3,000 gallons would cost him $71.09.
The cost of water per 1,000 gallons will go from $2.85 to $3.84, and treated sewage will increase to $5.38 from $3.89 per 1,000 gallons.
However, utilizing the three-year phase-in plan, the customer with the 0.75inch meter using 1,000 gallons will see a monthly increase of $8.96 the first year, $17.92 the second year, and $26.87 the third year and every year thereafter until a different rate is enacted.
The bill for the customer using the current 3,000 gallons minimum each month will go up $15.10 the first year, $30.20 the second, and $45.31 the third year and thereafter.
Griffeth is pushing for a means to reduce such steep increases in the future. During a discussion about the current financial condition of the water and sewer system, he stressed the need for periodic adjustments.
“I would encourage you a year before the phase-in maxes out, ends, to pass an ordinance that builds in, I would recommend, a two-percent increase in fees every year.” That annual adjustment would begin in 2027 if the three-year phase-in of the new rates is enacted.
Griffeth shared a copy of the Henry County Water Authority ordinance at the Jan. 16 meeting. That ordinance calls for a five-percent jump every year unless and until a change is made.
Griffeth’s two-percent proposal was not part of the unofficial decision for the rate increases effective July 1 with the three-year phase-in period.