Wednesday, June 20, 2007

BF considers water rate rise

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Bosque Farms For the first time since the Village of Bosque Farms established its municipal water system the council is considering raising water rates for its customers.

The village built its water system 17 years ago and has never raised its rates for either residential or commercial use. The council is considering raising the rates for the first time in order to pay for its ongoing operating costs and to save money for future expenditures.

During a special meeting to discuss the issue on Monday, Gayle Jones, the village's clerk administrator, told the council that the cost of operating a utility has skyrocketed and the village needs the department to be able to pay for itself.

"Right now, if the clarifier blows, we don't have the money to fix it," Jones said. "Our water lines are getting old, and we don't have the money in the budget to fix them. We really need to start preparing for future expenses."

While all of the members of the council are in agreement that something needs to be done, concerns were raised about how the rate increase could affect those on a fixed income. Resident Lillie McNabb also voiced her concern that those who don't use more than the minimum 7,000 gallons of water per month shouldn't be penalized with a rate increase.

"It's the ones who are going over who should be the ones who pay," McNabb said. "I also hope that you consider making it mandatory that everyone in the village hook up to the system. I don't think it's fair that the majority of people who live in the village have to pay for this. Everyone should be required to hook up."

Councilor Dolly Wallace explained that the village couldn't do that. She said that when the village accepted a federal grant to build the system, it agreed that it wouldn't force anyone to hook up to the water system.

"If we made people, we'd be out of compliance and fined heavily," Wallace said.

Mayor Wayne Ake said that raising water rates isn't to make more money for the village, but rather to make sure that the system has enough funding to operate properly and for future expenses.

"We're not out to fleece people," Ake said. "We're just making sure that they have water when they turn the tap on. We need to get our act together and we need to be proactive rather than reactive."

McNabb also told the council that she was concerned that residents who are being charged the fee for exceeding the minimum water usage because of a leak may not be able to afford the cost. She asked if the village could waive the fee if the resident could prove that they have a leak.

Ake told her that the law wouldn't permit the village to do that.

Some of the rate increases included keeping the base rate at the current $20 per month and increasing the fees paid for over usage per 1,000 gallons in increments that ranged from $2.50 to $6. The council also discussed increasing the base rate to $22.50.

The council didn't take action on the water rates at the special meeting. Jones said the issue would be brought in front of the council for consideration at its July regular meeting.

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