Sewer bills to increase for 5 years

Officials said the last increase was more than five years ago.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Sewer bills for all customers of the Mahoning County metropolitan sewer district are going up later this year and will keep going up for five years.
The sewer-rate increase affects customers in unincorporated areas of all the county's townships except Berlin, Green and Smith. Customers in Campbell and the villages of Craig Beach, Poland and New Middletown also will be affected. The department serves about 40,000 customers in those areas, said Joseph Warino, county sanitary engineer.
The new rates are effective Nov. 1, then will increase again at the beginning of each of the next five years, Warino said.
He said it's been more than five years since the department last had a rate increase. Additional revenue is needed to meet operating costs, as well as the cost of utilities and chemicals needed for sewage treatment and for personnel and maintenance.
Customers pay based on their consumption of water used for sanitary sewer purposes, Warino said. They also pay a fixed monthly rate that is dedicated solely to paying on the department's debt for capital improvements. Both of those costs are going up as part of the five-year rate plan.
Office manager Bill Coleman said the monthly cost per 1,000 gallons of water for sanitary sewer usage will increase Nov. 1 from $3.80 to $4, for up to 30,000 gallons. That cost will then increase each year until it hits $5.25 in January 2009. Most customers use about 5,200 gallons per month.
The bottom line
The fixed monthly rate for debt service, now at $4.25, will go up to $4.50 Nov. 1 and continue rising incrementally to $5.75 in 2009.
The total average monthly bill for a customer who uses 5,200 gallons is expected to go up about $9.30 over the five-year period.
Coleman said water rates also will increase for customers in North Jackson, Craig Beach and Milton Township because they get water from treatment plants operated by the county.
Average water bills for the five-year period will increase from the current $18.71 to $26.55 in 2009.
Warino said his department has an annual budget of $19 million, more than half of which goes toward treatment of water and sanitary sewer. The rest is for debt service, maintenance, engineering, administration and billing services.
Warino said that over the next five years, he hopes to see the department implement online billing and the issuance of permits, and he hopes to eliminate septic systems within the county.
He also hopes to implement mandatory installation of back-flow prevention valves for all new construction, which should stop sewage from being forced into homes during heavy storms.