The Guthrie Public Works Authority unanimously approved to increase water rates to all customers for the City of Guthrie. Due to litigation, water rates have not seen an increase since May 2008.
In 2007, in an attempt to find the best way to finance the new water treatment plant, an increase in water rates and improvement fees were adopted as the most cost effective means of financing the projects and implementing the new rates as soon as possible was to reduced the annual financial burden on all customers. The plan was to increase water rates each year ranging from $.50 to $1 on the base charge per month and the volumetric charges ranging from 2 percent to 5 percent per 1,000 gallons of water per month.
However, an Initiative Petition filed by Patty Hazlewood and Karen Schandorf, in District court, put a hold on any rate increases. The petition proposed, the city should not be allowed to raise water and sewer rates, but instead be submitted to the legal voters of the city for their approval or rejection at the next regular general election, or at a special election. However, a Logan County judge denied the petition just last month.
Related story: Judge denies petition; rules in favor for City of Guthrie
Now the city is having to catch up with debt payment and operations cost.
On November 7, the Citizens Rate and Fee Advisory Committee met with city staff and Municipal Finance Services(MFS) to discuss utility rates and fees. A Water Charge/Rate Analysis was provided to the Committee with a projected increase of 40 percent to the base charge and the volumetric charges. Information was also provided to the Committee that if the water base rate would have been increased five percent each year, what was proposal in 2008, the water rate would be at the rate today.
Guthrie Water Plant
Water customers will see an increase in the base rate and volumetric charge by five percent each year, including 2017, to help cover the increase expenditure costs to the GPWA. The proposed increases for the fiscal year 2014 only address the debt payment, not costs of operations (chemicals, labor, insurance, etc), but will in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
“This is our way of catching up with operations that have been operating in the red,” City Manager Sereniah Breland said.
Overall, the base rate will increase 30 percent for all residential and commercial customers. Example: a residence in city limits with a minimum bill of 2000 gallons (or less) will go from $9.72 to $12.64.
John Wolf with MFS said this was the best way to make adjustments city wide.
“(We) try not to place to much of an owners burden on smaller use customers, but understanding there would need to be adjustments customer wide (for all users).”
So how much will my bill increase and when?
City officials say on the average one person equals 1,000 gallons of water per month.
If a residential home inside the city limits consumes 5,000 gallons on their water bill they will see an increase from $22.38 to $29.35. A difference of $6.97 per month.
If a residential home outside of the city limits consumed 5,000 gallons their bill would increase from $35.77 to $46.88 for a difference of $11.11 per month.
Your article leaves out the critical part where the GWPA/City assessed the water treatment plant fee against ALL residents of Guthrie, even if they fell under the rural water district, which was clearly illegal. If they had not done that, there would not have been lawsuits to begin with.