OPINION: Water/sewer rate hike too much

Such is the case with Winder’s move last week to dramatically hike the city’s water and sewer rates.

There are multiple problems with the city’s actions.

For one, the rate hikes were proposed with virtually no advance public notice. Although this newspaper had been asking for a copy of the rate study, we were repeatedly told it was not available — until last Monday night when it was presented at the council’s work session.

Scheduling the study’s adoption for the very next night meant the public had virtually no time to consider the hike or to react to it.

Even more concerning is that the council itself received the study on the same day that it was presented. As Councilman Bob Dixon rightly noted, the study was filled with tables of numbers not easily – or quickly – understood.

So with the vote planned for May 4, why did the council not receive this data-filled study until May 3?

Why, in their presentation to council Monday night, did the consultants fail to mention they were recommending five successive annual rate hikes?

Why did they not disclose that the cumulative effect over five years would be a 62-percent increase in water and sewer rates?

Why did they fail to disclose that the cost – in real dollars and cents – would be much higher for customers who live outside the city and who already pay 79 percent more than city residents for Winder water and sewer service?

Were they instructed by the city administration to keep their presentation narrowly focused only on the first year of rate hikes and only on the cost to city residents?

Did they think that would be more palatable to the six politicians who would have to adopt the study?

Was there some thought that those council members might not read the study before the vote the next night?

Though the mayor assured Tuesday night’s audience that the council had only planned to vote on the first annual increase, no one on council talked about actually rejecting the study and its recommendations.

So as it stands now, in addition to the 7-percent increase in the base rates and the 15-percent increases in the usage rates, the council could approve four additional increases in water and sewer rates by FY2015.

In addition to the lack of notice, the way the hike was cast as being for “infrastructure” fixes is at best disingenuous.

Yes, the study outlines millions of dollars in needed repairs and improvements to the water and sewer systems. But if the city had been using its excess water revenues each year to properly maintain its system, it would not be facing massive problems today.

To put it simply, Winder for a long time has played a shell game with water revenues that have been moved to the general fund to pay for other city operations.

If Dixon had not introduced an amendment earmarking for system maintenance all of the additional revenue from the first year’s rate hikes, nothing would have stood in the way of the administration using every penny of that extra $1.5-1.7 million for other operations in FY2011.

That is patently unfair to utility customers who live outside the city, are hooked to the city’s water and sewer systems, and have no voice in city elections.

The plan to raise Winder utility rates each of the next five fiscal years needs close review and additional public input.

The ramrod manner in which the issue was handled last week does not speak well of the city’s leadership.