Residents question water rate hikes

COSHOCTON - About 50 residents filled Coshocton City Council chambers Monday night to weigh in on a proposal to raise water rates by 34 percent.

"We've had water rates going up, going up, going up," said Dan Ford, of South Sixth Street. "They keep saying we're below Columbus. So's my pay scale."

Ford said he has not had a pay raise in years and, in fact, had to take a pay cut. He asked council members how the city will attract new stores and businesses if it continues to raise taxes and fees.

The Rev. Stan Braxton, of the Upper Room Assembly and Worship Center, told the council he supports raising water distribution fees as long as the city develops a five- or 10-year plan to increase water revenue, perhaps by expanding water service outside city limits.

The council did not act on the rate hike proposal Monday, but instead hosted the first of three readings. A second reading should follow Feb. 22. A third reading has not yet been scheduled.

Mayor Steve Mercer and City Utilities Director Dave McVay said a 34 percent rate hike is needed to offset $1.2 million in water revenue lost by the December closing of the WestRock paper mill. That company had been the city's biggest customer, using about 3 million gallons of water a day, McVay said.

Mercer and McVay had asked the council to pass the rate hike before March 1 to avoid dipping into the Water Fund's $1.1 million carryover to offset a funding shortfall, but so far, no panel members have committed to meeting that timeline. The city already has trimmed the Water Department's budget and cut back on employees to help fill the funding gap.

In other action Monday night, the council waived rules and hosted two of three readings on a proposal to settle a federal lawsuit with SBA Towers VI LLC, which wants to lease ground and place a cellphone tower behind the Coshocton High School campus.

A third reading is likely to follow during the council's Feb. 22 meeting. City Law Director Bob Skelton said he suggested the council act in two meetings, rather than one, to give residents time to add their input on the tower.

The Coshocton Board of Zoning Appeals last year bowed to pressure from city residents who opposed the tower and denied the company's application. SBA sued the board in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, a lawsuit that Skelton said the city is likely to lose.

Skelton said the Federal Communications Act allows the construction of cellphone towers as a necessary utility.

Settling will protect the city from having to pay for SBA's attorney fees, Skelton said. It would not impose any additional costs on the city, he said.

The Coshocton City Schools Board of Education had agreed to lease the ground to the tower company for $50,000, plus $1,200 a month in rent, Superintendent David Hire said. That approval hinged on zoning board approval.

Donna Bordenkircher, of Sleepy Hollow Drive, said she opposes both the cell tower and water rate increase. She said the cell tower will decrease her property value, and she does not want to see her water rates increase, either.

While the council is considering its rate options, the city is asking the Rural Community Assistance Program to study Water Department operations to determine whether the proposed hike would match or exceed the city's needs. McVay said that process should take two months and should cost the city $5,000.

If the council approves a 34 percent water rate increase, a minimal user's entire monthly utility bill would increase by $5.38, or about 10 percent, McVay said. Utility bills cover water, sewer, garbage, stormwater services and debt reduction. That total increase would include a 6 percent sewer increase and 4 percent water increase previously approved to begin this year, McVay said.

Minimal users make up about 49 percent of the city's 5,781 water customers.

jwilliams6@gannett.com

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