County sewer rates increasing
By MARK LAW, staff writerSTEUBENVILLE - Jefferson County commissioners in a split vote Monday agreed to increase sewer rates by $14.75 by 2011 but also cut water rates for the next two years.
The sewer side of the county water and sewer department was facing a deficit this year and the water side has a surplus.
The commissioners are set to receive $5 million in loans and $2.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the installation of sewers in the Crestview-Belvedere area outside Bloomingdale. But the USDA wanted sewer rates increased so the county sewer department wouldn't be in a deficit. Without the increase, the county was facing losing the USDA grants and loans.
County Commissioner David Maple said he recently had a telephone conference with USDA officials to try to increase the assessment costs to residents of Crestview-Belvedere and reduce the increase in the monthly sewer bills to the county's 2,100 sewer customers.
Maple said the USDA wanted an increase of $14 a month right away but he was able to convince the USDA to reduce that to $11.75 in 2009. There will be a $2 increase in 2010 followed by a $1 increase in 2011.
Customers now pay a base sewer rate of $30 a month.
The USDA had set sewer assessments at $6,500 a house in Crestview-Belvedere but increased that to $9,500, Maple said.
He noted the sewer rate increase only amounts to about $200,000 a year.
He added the USDA wanted the sewer department solvent, just like a bank wants a business to be financially stable before granting a loan.
Jack Gilmore, county sanitary engineer, warned the commissioners last month there would be a deficit in the sewer department next year. The commissioners had to advance $30,000 to the sewer department to finish out this year, but that amount will be repaid once sewer bills are received for December.
County Commissioner Thomas Graham, who voted against the sewer rate increase, said he wanted the rates to be implemented over a period of time.
Maple and county Commissioner Adam Scurti voted in favor of the sewer rate hike.
"This puts a big burden on the sewer customers," Graham said. "This is going to be a struggle for a lot of people. A lot of people are struggling through tough economic times."
Water rates will decrease by $2 a month for the county's 7,400 water customers through 2010. All three commissioners approved that action.
Commissioners also agreed to fix sewer rate assessments at $9,500 for the Crestview-Belvedere sewer project.
Gilmore said the sewer rates should have been increased in stages during the past several years.
Maple said he believes with the increase of 400 additional sewer customers in Crestview-Belvedere that sewer rates can begin to decrease after 2012.
Commissioners gave Gilmore the authority to proceed with the final bidding documents for the sewer project.
In other matters, commissioners were notified by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that sewers will have to be installed in Pottery Addition north of Steubenville.
The Ohio EPA said untreated raw sewage is being dumped into the Ohio River.
The county years ago installed a lift station as part of a failed economic development plan, and the lift station was connected to Steubenville's sewage treatment system.
Gilmore said Pottery Addition had a centralized septic system that has failed, and he noted he wasn't surprised by the Ohio EPA order to install sewers to the 150 structures in Pottery Addition.
Commissioners gave Gilmore permission to draft a response to the Ohio EPA saying the county will comply with installing sewers.
Maple told Gilmore he wants the county to get proposals from engineering companies to design the sewer system. The county now will have to secure financing for the project, and residents will have to pay an assessment to have the sewers installed.
Also, the commissioners received a second proposal of a partnership to help operate the county's new animal shelter.
Marje DeFede of the county's animal shelter task force said the Community Foundation of Jefferson County can be a conduit for grants and donations. The various animal welfare groups in the county can become "friends of the shelter" and apply for grants and organize fundraising activities, she added.
Voters approved a 1.3-mill levy on the March 4 primary election ballot, which will generate $1.6 million to construct the new animal shelter.
The Jefferson County Humane Society in October made a proposal to help the county operate the new animal shelter.
Maple noted he will be pushing the architect of the new animal shelter to design a facility that will operate as efficiently as possible.
The commissioners will maintain control of the animal shelter but can financially benefit from a public-private partnership to operate the shelter.
In other business, Monday was the last meeting for Scurti, who opted not to seek re-election after two terms.
Scurti said he believes the county has moved forward during his tenure and the "circus atmosphere" of the commissioners' meetings has stopped.
"I would like to think at the end of my tenure that the county is a little better off than eight years ago," he said.
Commissioners also approved the appointment of Keith Bodo of 211 N. Avalon Drive, Wintersville, to a four-year term on the county's Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Board.
(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)
