NEWS

Water rate hike heading to council

Joe Williams
Reporter

COSHOCTON - The City Council is expected on Monday to host the first of three readings of legislation proposing to raise water rates by 34 percent.

In the meantime, city administrators say they will hire a company to study whether that rate meets or exceeds the water department's operating needs.

While Mayor Steve Mercer and Utilities Director Dave McVay had asked the council to pass the rate hikes before March 1 to avoid dipping into the Water Fund's $1.19 million carryover to offset a funding shortfall, so far, no panel members have committed to meeting that timeline.

Council must give proposed ordinances three readings, but the panel has sometimes waived rules to allow multiple readings and passage in the same night.

At-Large Councilman Tom Grier said that abbreviated process will not occur with the water rate hikes.

"I'm not going to run this through Monday," he said during last week's committee meetings. "No way I'm going to emergency clause this."

While council is considering its options, the city is asking the Rural Community Assistance Program to study its 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.

City council members and administrators discussed the possibility of adapting any upcoming rate hike based on the results of that study during the Feb. 1 committee sessions

"If the rate study comes back and says we've overdone it, we back it off," At-Large Councilman Glenn Mishler said.

Mercer and McVay say raising water rates by 34 percent by March 1, coupled with budget changes and employee cutbacks, would offset $1.2 million in annual revenue lost by the recent closing of Coshocton's WestRock paper mill.

Although Mercer and McVay last month also presented council with an option to raise rates by 25 percent, they said that would still fall well short of the money needed to run the department. Last week, Mercer said he planned to send the 34 percent proposal to council Monday.

If council approves a 34 percent water rate hike, 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, storm water services and debt reduction. That total increase would include both 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 water customers. Of all 5,781 customers, 2,870 now use less than 2,745 gallons monthly to fall into that category.

Another 49 percent would fall into the next billing tier, and most of them would see about a $10 monthly increase, Mercer has said.

Only 84 customers, mostly local industries, would fit into the proposed top tier. Their costs would vary, based on consumption, McVay said

Also Monday, City Law Director Bob Skelton said he will seek council authorization to settle a federal lawsuit with SBA Towers VI, LLC., which would allow the company to lease ground and erect a cell phone tower behind the Coshocton High School campus.

The Coshocton City Schools Board of Education had previously approved leasing ground for the tower to the company for $50,000 up front, and then $1,200 a month in rent, Superintendent David Hire said.

Coshocton's Board of Zoning Appeals blocked that in May. SBA then sued the CBZA in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, a lawsuit that Skelton told council last week the city is likely to lose.

Skelton said settling out of court would save the city from having to pay SBA's attorney fees, which would be required if a judge ruled against the CBZA.

Council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Monday in Council Chambers, City Hall, 760 Chestnut St.

jwilliams6@gannett.com

740-295-3417

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