Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Another water rate increase is in place for 2005.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown Water Department customers will see an 8.5 percent rate increase in their bills beginning Thursday, the second such increase in two years.
Water Commissioner Charles Sammarone said the increase is needed to pay for capital improvements to the city's aging water distribution system and to cover operating costs.
"We have broken lines that have eaten into our budget," he said. "A number of old lines in the city broke this year. We're also starting to work toward our capital improvements program."
The increase will add about $1.08 a month to the average bill for city residents, who pay about $15 to $18, and about $1.51 a month to the average bill for suburban residents, who pay about $21 to $25, Sammarone said. The city tacks on a 40-percent surcharge to the bills of suburban water customers.
The city buys water in bulk amounts from the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District and sells it to residents in Youngstown and Austintown, as well as parts of Boardman, Canfield, Liberty, Girard and Weathersfield.
The city also raised its water rates by 8.5 percent in 2003, the first increase since July 1994.
The city will increase its water rates by 5.5 percent in 2005.
Mayor gives OK
Mayor George M. McKelvey approved Sammarone's recommendation to increase water rates in 2004 and 2005. City council action is not needed for water rate increases, but Sammarone said he told council's public utilities committee earlier this year about the plan.
The water department has an annual budget of about $17 million, and will finish this year with no surplus, Sammarone said.
The water department is working on a number of capital improvement projects for 2004. They include the installation of new waterlines to repair old ones, and the replacement of the 200,000-gallon, 75-year-old Kirk Road water tank in Austintown with a higher tower with a tank capacity of 1.5 million gallons to better serve customers in the western part of Mahoning County.
The amount of water used by water department customers has decreased by about one-third in the past decade. The city pumped about 30 million gallons of water a day 10 years ago, and now pumps about 20 million gallons a day, Sammarone added.
skolnick@vindy.com