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City proposes 4 percent increase in water bills
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BALTIMORE (Map, News) - City officials proposed a 4 percent increase to water bills for the region’s 1.8 million customers who draw from Baltimore City’s three major reservoirs Wednesday.
Customers in Anne Arundel, Carroll and Howard counties and Baltimore will face a much smaller increase than originally forecast for using city-supplied water.
At the weekly city Board of Estimates meeting, officials form the city’s water bureau said cost cutting and efficiencies allowed the agency to seek the lower than anticipated rate increase.
“We’ve found places to cut expenses and be more efficient,” said Kurt Kocher, spokesman for the water bureau.
In 2007, city officials proposed a three-year, 9 percent increase in water rates. But the proposal met with stiff resistance from city leaders, resulting in a one-time annual 9 percent increase last year.
Wednesday’s surprise announcement came with warning that next year’s increase could be in the “high single digits.”
The rate increase coincided with new policies to helping city resident cope with rising water bills.
The Board of Estimates approved a 30 percent discount for the city’s senior citizens. Residents over age 65 who make less than $25,000 per year are eligible for the discount.
The board also approved an extra $25 for hardship grants to low-income residents to a maximum of $125 per year.
The city also set a lower debt threshold for turning off water for homeowners who fall behind on their bill from $500 to $250.
The new policy, which includes earlier notification of the customer that their property could be sold to satisfy the debt will prevent such sales, said acting
Director of Public Works David Scott.
“We want to intervene early in the process.”
City Council Member Bernard “Jack” Young, D-12th, who fought hard to prevent delinquent water bills from claiming people’s homes, said he was pleased.
“This is a step in the right in the direction, but we have more work to do.”
The Board of Estimates will vote on the increase after a May 25 public hearing.
sjanis@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
9:54 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 24, 2008 re: "Sewage, water rates to rise in Baltimore County"
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3:24 PM MST on Fri., May. 30, 2008
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4:45 AM MST on Thu., May. 29, 2008
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Johnny Apple seed said:
State law superseids County. Enforce the State No building moratoriums within 200 feet of sewage and all wataerways, without permit and I will gladly pay more for water, period. OCD
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NTD said:
“Much of this work has been neglected and has to be done all at once,” Well then maybe we should take all of the cost for their neglect out of the paychecks of those who failed to do their job in the first place. So essentially they got paid for not doing their job, but now the taxpayers have to pay more for someting that should have been done already? Start with Jim Smith and the director of Public Works
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Examiner Reader said:
And this is why things should not be just passed off with the "we'll get to it later" mentality. Now we'll pay more for water and electricity due to short sightedness of those that are in charge. Don't wait til it breaks to fix it, take some initiative and do preventative work.
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joep said:
Here we go agaim!
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Examiner Reader said:
Goverment people don't know how to fix a pipe.They can't do anything right! They are mean !
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joek said:
I live in Federal Hill and have been seeing broken mains and pipes spouting water like Old Faithful daily for the last two months. Check out the constant flow of hundreds of gallons per minute at William and West streets! Is this rate hike to pay for their incompetence at not knowing how to fix a pipe in the first place?
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Examiner Reader said:
I'm tired of the only discounts and assistance programs going to those who earn less than $25,000. It is those of us that earn between$25,000 and $80,000 that are hit hardest and struggling with oppressive debt. A person earning less than $25,000 is less likely to have a mortgage, a high BGE bill with no opportunity for asistance, or a car payment coupled with the exorbitant gas prices that must be used every day to go back and forth to work, etc. Not to mention the city's ridiculessly high property taxes and vehicle insurance.
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Examiner Reader said:
It never ends ! Every day they find new ways to steal our hard earned dollars.What a shameful bunch of greedy power hungry People ! They are mean !
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