April 29, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Planned Water Rate Increase To Take Effect
DECATUR - A previously scheduled water rate increases is scheduled to take effect May 1, an increase deemed necessary to combat the rising cost of providing safe drinking water to residents and to avoid having the city’s water fund reach deficit levels.
The Decatur City Council agreed last year to implement 15 percent increases in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively after having not increased water rates for about 10 years even as the cost of treating and delivering water to customers has increased significantly. The increase means that a family of four that now pays $58 dollars for water service per quarter will pay about $9 more every three months.
Residential water bills are mailed to residents each quarter.
“We understand that nobody likes an increase in costs and, frankly, the City didn’t like having to implement the increase,” said City Manager Ryan McCrady. “But after so many years of not increasing rates we’d reached a point where we could no longer pay the cost of providing water to residents without going into a deficit situation which, in the long run, probably would have cost residents more.”
It should be noted that the increase is for the water portion of bills and that sanitary, sewer usage and recycling costs are also a part of the quarterly bill sent to residents.
For more information contact Billy Tyus at 424-2753.