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9 percent sewer-rate increase recommended
(by Sue Reid - October 27, 2010)
9 percent sewer-rate increase recommended
By SUE REID
Solon City Council's finance committee recommended approval last week of a 9 percent increase for sewer rates in 2011.
"The increase is very reasonable," Councilman Lon D. Stolarsky said.
Council's public works committee had referred the issue to the finance committee after giving approval earlier this month.
For the average family of four in Solon, the annual increase would be about $40, or $10 each quarter.
The matter is set for a public hearing at 6 p.m. Nov. 8 at the next public works committee meeting.
The last time the city set a rate schedule was in 2006. It called for an increase of 6 percent annually for that four-year period. This is the final year for that 6 percent increase.
Public Works Director James S. Stanek and sewage-treatment plant director Paul Solanics explained for the committee the reasons behind the recommendation for the increase. It's based on declining revenue at the sewage-treatment plant, they said.
"The rates have to support the operation," Mr. Stanek said. "In a perfect world, revenues and expenditures match."
Mr. Solanics explained why the revenue stream has changed and why expenditures have gone up and down over the years. He said revenue for the plant comes from sewer rates and surcharges. The surcharges amount to about $700,000 to $750,000 annually. From sewer rates, about $4.5 million can be expected, he said.
A number of cost-cutting measures were put into place this year at the plant, he said. They included not hiring part-time or seasonal help, which resulted in a $22,000 annual savings. There was also the elimination of a supervisory control and data acquisition managerial position for 2011 for an $83,000 savings.
"We've also reduced our chemical usage," Mr. Solanics said, at a savings of approximately $50,000. The plant also held off on vehicle purchases, he said.
In addition, outsourcing of three portions of the plant's operations is being investigated. They include sludge hauling, lift-station maintenance and waste-water sample analysis. Mr. Solanics said early investigation has shown that the sludge-hauling outsourcing can save about $100,000 annually, the lift-station maintenance $120,000 and the waste-water sample analysis $130,000.
"It will take at least six months to see if outsourcing makes sense," Mr. Solanics said. "In the meantime, we need to come up with cash to make it through the beginning of 2011."
He said an estimated $500,000 loss in surcharge revenue is anticipated, based on a large company in the city putting in a pre-treatment system.
The proposed increase of 9 percent for 2011 "would cover at least some of the loss that we see and buy us some time," Mr. Solanics said.
Mr. Stanek said the city is aggressively pursuing bringing in flow from elsewhere, but "there's not a whole lot out there, and it is being pursued by others as well."
He said discussions about sewer rates are occurring in many other communities.
Councilman William D. Mooney said he worked with Mr. Stanek and Mr. Solanics back in 2006, when the city did its last sewer rate increase, and the biggest change since then is usage. People are cutting back and using less water, he said.
"That's a hard thing to overcome, no matter what the rate increase," Mr. Mooney said.
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