Mayor says he’s not ready to increase sewer rates

By David Skolnick

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The state Environmental Protection Agency is delaying about $12 million in loans to the city for wastewater improvements because Youngstown hasn’t agreed to raise sewer rates needed to repay that money.

If the city doesn’t get the EPA loans, it would have to pay the money out of its wastewater fund, which would put that fund in deficit next year, said Kyle Miasek, interim finance director.

“Without raising rates, we’ll jeopardize the wastewater fund reserve,” he said Wednesday.

But Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said, “Am I ready to raise rates? My response at this time is no.”

Brown repeated what he said three months ago that the city needs to do an affordability study to see how much residents can pay, as well as sit down with the federal and state EPA to discuss a possible reduction of the $160 million commitment Youngstown made to upgrade its sewer system.

He also wants the city to consider hiring an attorney to negotiate with the EPA to reduce that $160 million figure.

“When I tell people we negotiated this with in-house attorneys, they laugh at me,” he said.

Miasek, along with Charles Shasho, deputy director of public works, and Tom Mirante, wastewater superintendent, met Tuesday with Ohio EPA officials on the issue.

The city has already borrowed about $60 million from the state for wastewater improvement projects, with repayments over 20 years, starting in 2020.

The city also has paid about $1.5 million from its wastewater-fund reserve for EPA-mandated improvements but can’t cover the rest of the work with cash reserves in that fund, Miasek said.

That fund currently has a surplus of about $13 million.

Arcadis, an international firm hired by the city for a sewer-rate study, recommended in October 2018 it be increased 8 percent a year for five years, starting Jan. 1 of this year.

There are about 22,000 wastewater accounts in the city.

If approved, the monthly sewer rate would go from $98.91 per 1,000 cubic feet now to $106.82 this year; $115.37 in 2020; $124.60 in 2021; $134.57 in 2022; and $145.33 in 2023.

That rate increase would cover only about $75 million of the $160 million in improvements the city is required to make. That first phase of improvements is for work at the wastewater treatment plant on Poland Avenue, and that work is either done or underway.

The rest of the work is for a new facility near the plant to better control sewage in heavier rainfalls and an intercepter sewer to keep wastewater from flowing into Mill Creek.

Councilwoman Basia Adamczak, D-7th, said the city needs to raise rates to cover the cost of the projects at the treatment plant and needs to let the public know why the rates are being increased.

Brown said if council wants to raise wastewater rates without discussion with the EPA, it can, but it won’t come with his recommendation.

After close to a decade of negotiations with the federal EPA, the city and the agency settled in 2014 on about $160 million in sewer improvements over 20 years.