Water, sewer rate hikes recommended

One year after approving a small sewer rate increase and scaling back the recommended water rate increase, the Vandalia City Council has been asked to increase both rates again this year.

In presenting the annual city audit, Dale Timmermann of Timmermann & Co. Ltd. recommended a 7.19-percent increase in water rates and a 2.19-percent hike in sewer rates.

Those recommended increases mirror the percentage increases in water and sewer expenses over the past year, Timmermann said.

Timmermann said the water system expenses increased by $111,126 in the past year, and that sewer system expenses were up by $20,561 last year.

“Frankly, when you look at your current position and our water department for this year, you don’t really have any buffer not to pass on these increases (to residents),” he said.

The city’s water department losses for the past year totaled $524,000, up from $413,000 in the previous year, with a large part of that due to the fact that the state is behind on water payments to the city for the services provided to Vandalia Correctional Center.

The historical analysis prepared by Timmermann’s staff shows that the city could account for 92.97 percent of the 310,278,200 gallons of water pumped during the past year. That’s 5 percent below last year’s figure, and is the city’s lowest figure since 2004.

“That’s not terrible, but it’s probably lower than what you would hope for,” Timmermann said.

Through a city ordinance approved by the council several years ago, any increases based on production costs would be passed onto city residents if the council does not take any action.

Last year, the council accepted the 1.96-percent increase as recommended by Timmermann’s firm, but lowered the amount of a water rate increase from the recommended 12.54 percent to 5 percent.

The increases recommended by the local CPA firm will go into effect at the beginning of October unless the council takes action on the matter at its Sept. 21 meeting. Aldermen did not discuss the matter after Timmermann made his presentation.