Plans fuel call for higher rates Average household would pay additional 30 cents a month

The last of three MVSD rate increases goes into effect for member cities July 1.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- The Mahoning Valley Sanitary District will seek rate increases within the next year to begin offsetting the cost of its $47 million long-term capital improvement program.
This project is in addition to the $10.5 million in improvements to the water filtration and distribution system that will be completed this year.
Tom Holloway, MVSD chief engineer, said Tuesday that the district board of directors will be refining the list of improvements to determine the rate increase the board will seek from the court of jurisdiction -- one judge each from Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
"I don't know if you ever stop a capital-improvement program," Holloway said.
The district raised its rates in 2004 to member cities of Youngstown, Niles and McDonald for capital improvements. The third of these three increases goes into effect July 1. This will increase the rate by 6 cents per 1,000 gallons -- from 91 to 97 cents per 1,000 gallons.
If the rate is passed on to the customers of the member cities, Holloway noted, it will mean a 30-cent-per-month increase in the cost of water based on the average household's using 5,000 gallons a month.
Deciding factors
The rate increase that now will be sought, Holloway explained, depends on how much the district board of directors wants to spend on capital improvement during the next three years.
The rate increase, if any, approved by the court will be passed on to member cities that can either absorb them or pass them on to their customers.
The MVSD draws water from Meander Reservoir and sells the treated water in bulk to its member cities. It is now involved in a $10.5 million capital investment program: $7.3 million to rehabilitate the filters and $1.6 each for construction of the Niles standpipe and installing new roofing on the chemical buildings.
Holloway has a list of proposed capital improvements that requires $22.6 million through 2007 and an additional $11.9 million through 2009. There then will be more proposed improvements through 2011.
In four of the 11 projects, design work is partially complete and the designs need reviewed and revised. The design work on the four totaling $28.6 million was suspended in 1997.
What happened
About that time, a special state audit found that about $2 million was skimmed from $50 million in capital improvement work that was paid for, but the work was never done. These projects were the construction of two new settling basins, rehabilitation of the existing six basins, addition of a recarbonation system and improvements to the chemical feed system in the chemical building.
In the end, Ed Flask, a former MVSD director, was placed on probation, ordered to pay $25,000 to the Ohio Ethics Commission and lost his license to practice law.
MVSD's improvements are needed, Holloway explained, because of the need to continue providing a quality product. Some are needed because of increased regulations and others because the equipment is old.
"Things just wear out," Holloway said, noting that some of the MVSD equipment was installed in the 1950s and replacement parts are no longer made.
In other cases, he pointed out, the equipment is electronic and it becomes obsolete in very short time.
yovich@vindy.com