City Council to weigh water, sewer increases

12/4/2010

Toledo City Council will hold a public hearing Monday on a proposal from the Bell administration to nearly double water and sewer rates over four years.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in One Government Center. Mayor Bell's plan would increase both water rates and storm water rates by 9.9 percent a year from 2011 to 2014. It would increase sewer rates 13.4 percent a year each year from 2011 to 2014.

If approved, the increases would follow the yearly 4 to 4.5 percent increases in Toledo water rates and the 9.75 to 9.9 percent increases in sewer rates in effect since 2003.

Tom Crothers, the city's director of public utilities, said the chief reasons for the fee increases are a $521 million sewer upgrade that started in 2005, antiquated pipelines and equipment, too-modest past rate increases, and an unanticipated decline in water use since 2006.