Columbus Light and Water customers won’t see a rate increase on water fees, at least in the near future.
The CL&W Board of Directors met Sept. 18 to discuss the water budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which begins Wednesday. During that meeting, the board voted down a recommendation from CL&W General Manager Todd Gale to increase water and sewer rates by 7.5 percent beginning in October. Gale made the suggestion because while the budget projected a net income of $927,000 after expenses, the CL&W’s water department would still have to withdraw about $938,000 from reserves because of what the department expected to spend on expenses and capital improvements.
After the vote, board president Andrew Colom said he would call a special meeting between then and Oct. 1 so the board could discuss and hold an alternative vote on a smaller increase. That meeting will not happen due to scheduling conflicts with board members, Gale said.
The $1,212,000 capital improvement budget as listed now includes spending money for upkeep of the north and south water treatment plants, water main work in East Columbus, sewer cleaning in Southside, new transportation and tools as well as mapping software upgrades. Gale said the most likely of all those to be cut will be vehicles and tools, which accounted for about $85,000. The department will also have to scale back on the $410,000 it had planned to spend on sewer cleaning and inspection, Gale said.
“We’re going to have to monitor it on a month-to-month basis to see where we are,” Gale said. “We’re still going to eat into our reserves the way it’s set up right now.”
A draft of the minutes taken by board attorney Jeff Smith states the board voted unanimously to pass the budget as Gale presented it, which anticipates $10,110,000 in revenue and $9,183,000 in expenses for general services not related to capital improvements, although there is confusion as to whether or not that vote took place. While the failed vote on the water rate increase is heard on an audio recording of the meeting, no vote on the budget itself is heard. Colom is heard suggesting board members take time to decide if there should be an increase at all and how much.
“I think we need to sit on it and think about it,” Colom said Sept. 18 at the meeting. “If we have to, we’ll have a special meeting and we’ll make the decision. We’ll come up here and have a quick meeting where we’ve thought about it and can make a decision on a rate increase. That would be my suggestion on the best way to handle it. We can all go home, think about what we’re doing and then we can discuss it again and have a special meeting so (Gale) can know what to do to budget for October.”
Minutes for the meeting will not be official until the board votes on them during their regular meeting next month.
Both Gale and board member Jimmy Graham said they were both under the impression that there was no vote on the budget and that it was to be addressed in the special meeting that didn’t happen.
“When (Gale) called me, I didn’t remember passing the budget, but he said Jeff had it down in the minutes that way,” Graham said. “Todd and I talked about it and said they approved the budget with no rate increase and if we didn’t approve it, we wouldn’t be able to pay the bills in October. I didn’t want to get in that position, so I was OK with it.”
The last water rate increase was approved in late 2012 and went into effect in January 2013, Gale said.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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