The St. Charles Parish Council approved restructuring water and sewer fees for 2015-18.
Passed at the council’s July 6 meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Buddy Boe said the ordinance only addresses water and wastewater rates. A public meeting was held on the measure but no one commented.
Boe explained the ordinance reduced sewerage rates for the next three years, added a commercial tier to the rate structure, increased the base rate by $1, removed the commercial businesses from the non-domestic program, increased water rates for the first time in a decade, put a cap on the administrative fee charged for solid waste, and put all future rate changes effective on Jan. 1 of each year so the customers will see their utility bill changed only once a year instead of the current situation of multiple increases throughout the year.
Also, he said both water and wastewater rates will have a CPI (consumer price index) adjustment annually effective Jan. 1 starting in 2019.
“This is a major revision,” Boe told council members. “This affects 30 percent of the parish’s overall budget.”
Boe also said the wastewater rate decrease was promised as part of this year’s millage tax increase.
The council voted 8 to 1 for the move with Councilman Larry Cochran opposed, who pressed for a delay in the vote to allow more vetting of the ordinance by council committees and by the public.
“This is major,” Cochran said. “Why wasn’t this hashed out in committee meetings? Like you said, this is major.”
Several council members confirmed they had met with Boe individually where he said he explained the proposed rate schedule. Boe confirmed there had been “weeks of meetings.”Cochran apologized that business kept him from those meetings, but he repeatedly maintained the vote was being rushed.
“I just can’t support this at this time,” he said as the lone council member dissenting on the rate change. “I’m just asking to slow it down. We got six months to put it in.”
Be the first to comment