Hamilton County commissioners have approved an operating budget for the Metropolitan Sewer District next year, with a new rate fee. Customers will pay 3.75% more than this year.
Commissioner Denise Driehaus voted for the increase.
“I regret that we have to keep increasing these rates. I do think they’re moderate increases. It’s about $2 a month. It’s modest. It’s not insignificant, but it’s modest,” she says. “But it does allow us to continue to address the needs of the system. They are extremely difficult, but it’s extremely important to the citizens that we do this work, and yet try to keep the rates as low as possible.”
Commissioners approved the operating budget with a cut to the sewer backup program because it hasn't had to pay out as many claims as expected. Driehaus says if there's higher demand next year, the board will find the money.
Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas says the recommendation from the administration was to raise the fee by 4.5%. She joined Dreihaus in voting for the smaller increase.
“I wish it was zero, but everything we know is going up,” she says. “So we have to adjust to that. We have to be realistic.”
RELATED: Hamilton County submits draft plan to reduce sewer overflows
Rising costs are blamed on the federal order to reducing combined sewer overflows and eliminating sanitary sewer overflows. Commissioners have referred to the rules required under the federal Clean Water Act as an unfunded mandate.
Commission President Alicia Reece wanted to hold off on any rate hike.
“There is a new administration, we don’t know how that’s going to impact,” she says. “So we need to see, can we go in and renegotiate this unfunded mandate with the new people?”
The federal consent decree was ordered in order to comply with the Clean Water Act.
