By Patricia Bogumil
Editor
A possible 3 per cent rate reduction could be in place later this year for residents in the Town of Waterford Sanitary District (WSD).
At their June 11 meeting, commissioners voted to approve development of resolutions for the proposed rate change.
If eventually approved by the board, the change would go into effect for the Oct. 1, 2014 third-quarter billing.
Being proposed is an overall 3 per cent drop in the district’s current $118.50 quarterly fee paid by most users, trimming it by $3.55 to $114.95.
Changing numbers
Before a rate change can occur, it must be put into the form of a resolution and properly posted in the newspaper, WSD board president Dan Dickinson said.
On June 11, commissioners voted to develop a resolution to approve the rate study and incorporate its proposed changes in the October 2014 billing cycle. Based on the rate study, about 99.7 percent of WSD’s customers will experience about a 1 percent drop in quarterly user fees, if the resolution is approved.
Commissioners also voted June 11 to develop a resolution to reduce the general user fee by a conservative 2 percent.
The rate study’s 1 percent rate drop and the proposed 2 percent user fee cut add up to the total 3 percent cut being considered.
Most, but not all WSD users, would see a lower bill. About 0.03 percent of WSD customers could see an increase due to the impact of the rate study, some of which will be offset by the 2 percent general fee reduction, Dickinson said.
These are a handful of metered customers, and they could see increases ranging from 35 percent to 45 percent. While this percentage hike seems high, in some cases the dollar amount may not be large, Dickinson said.
Other billing anomalies were discovered by the study, and they will also be rectified, he added.
If both rate-related resolutions (rate study and general fee reduction) are approved, then about 99.7 percent of WSD customers will see around a 3 percent reduction in user fees (1 percent from the rate study impact; 2 percent general fee reduction).
Implementation of both, if approved, will be the October 2014 quarter billing.
After the October billing, the district will perform a financial analysis. If results come in positive as expected, Dickinson said he intends to consider an additional fee reduction.
The study
The civil engineering firm Ruekert-Mielke was hired to review the district’s rate structure in order to provide direction for the future.
The Ruekert-Mielke consultant is a 30-year veteran of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission working in the water and sewer rates area, Dickinson said. The firm’s services are not to exceed $2,500 in cost.
For the full story, see the print edition of the June 20, 2014 Waterford Post.
-
-
-
-
-