Sewer rates rise Jan. 1

KENT — The Sewer Commission approved an increased user fee and basic fee at the annual rate hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

The basic fee for each user will increase by 7 percent, starting Jan. 1, 2010. The basic fee is the yearly “subscription rate� for customers, to allow them access to the system.

The increase will boost the basic fee line item in the commission’s budget for fiscal 2009-10 from $94,352 to $97,654. The fiscal year begins July 1 of each year.

The commission also approved an increase for total use charges of 10 percent. The total use charge is based on how much water each customer uses.

The increase is expected to boost the total use line item in the commission’s budget for fiscal 2009-10 from $167,088 to $175,442.

The board also voted to cut non-emergency overtime for the plant’s two full-time employees, which would save $15,000 to $20,000 per year, according to Sewer Commission member John Casey.

“For several years, we have been charging sewer users less than what it has cost to provide services,� Casey said. “The last balanced budget for the commission was in fiscal 2005-06. For four years we have been operating at a loss. These fee increases, along with cutting non-emergency overtime, are both a step in the right direction.�

Casey added that the changes approved by the commission would allow it to put money into its capital reserve fund, which is used to pay for replacing aging equipment and system components at the water treatment plant.

“One thing that makes a water treatment plant unique is that there are a lot of moving parts in it,� Casey said. “When they move, they age. When they age, they need to be replaced. So, thanks to [the increases and overtime cuts] we will be able to put money into the capital reserve fund for the first time in three years.�

However, the commission would still be operating in the red with an estimated loss of $7,439 for fiscal 2009-10.

There are approximately 340  sewer system customers.