Posted: 7:00 a.m.Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015

MIDDLETOWN

Middletown utility bills may begoing up

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

Residentsmay soon pay a 10 percent surcharge to base sanitary sewer rates as part of thecity’s efforts to cover the costs of future sewer infrastructure improvements.

CityCouncil on Tuesday heard the first reading of the ordinance that will raisesewer bills by about $2.11 a month for a typical residential user, said CityManager Doug Adkins.

Hesaid sewer bills are reviewed by council every few years after reviewing theoperational, maintenance and capital improvement needs for the city’s sanitarysewer system. Council last discussed rates in 2013 that resulted in a 10percent rate increase on Jan. 1, 2014, he said.

Ifcouncil approves the ordinance at its next meeting on Sept. 15, it would takeeffect 30 days later on Oct. 15 and the surcharge will be reflected as aseparate line item on the November city utilities bill, Adkins said.

Thesurcharge is expected to generate about $850,000 a year, he said.

Middletown ranks 25th of the 63 community sewer systemsin the Miami Valley that are surveyed annually by thecity of Oakwood Finance Department. Oakwood surveys the average cost for using22,500 gallons of water in a three month period and the current ranking wasbased on rates effective as of March 1. The average cost for Middletown residents currently using 22,500gallons in a three month period is $122.25.

Adkinssaid that major capital improvements over the next 25 years will be needed forthe city’s aging combined sanitary and stormwater sewage system.

Thecity’s lines get overloaded with rain water and sewage overflows at severalpoints along the Great Miami River, Adkinssaid. In addition, to addressing the overflow issues, extensive rehabilitationof the city’s sewer system, which nearly half of the system is 50 years orolder, and major improvements at the city’s wastewater treatment plant wheremost of its components were installed in the 1950s.

Adkinssaid the cost to address the overflows is estimated between $80 and $250million; to repair and rehabilitate the sewer system will cost an estimated$142 million; and to make the needed improvements at the wastewater treatmentplant is estimated at $68 million.

Posted: 6:25 p.m.Friday, June 5, 2015

GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Middletown sewer bills going upthis fall

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

Middletown sewer rates will begoing up 10 percent as early as Sept. 1 to begin generating revenue to addressthe city’s sewer issues.

Duringa work session last week, City Council, reached a consensus that a 10 percentrate increase was needed in order to pay for the upgrade city officials and theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency agree upon.

Cityofficials will be preparing legislation to raise the sewer rates at an upcomingcouncil meeting.

Morethan 770 communities in the nation have or are negotiating with the U.S. EPA toaddress the overflows for combined sewer systems. The federal agency firststarted with larger cities, like Chicago, Cleveland and Cincinnati,which will spend billions of dollars in the coming decades to reach compliance.

Theissue locally remains under negotiation between the city and the EPA. The costis projected in a range of $80 million to $250 million over a 20- to 25-yearperiod, said Scott Tadych, city director of public works and utilities.

Inaddition, the city will also face more than $200 million for majorrehabilitation to the sewer collection system and the wastewater treatmentplant over the same period of time, he said.

“Fundingoptions for the these improvements are limited mostly to user fees, thereforeit is necessary to raise sewer rates accordingly dependent upon the finalsolution,” Tadych said. “Small rate increases now will hopefully minimize theneed for large rate increases in the future.”

Councilmembers have spent the past several months trying to find a way to cause theleast pain on ratepayers.

CityManager Doug Adkins said it was a matter of not if, but when the rates neededto be raised.

Duringa work session following Tuesday’s council meeting, Mayor Larry Mulligan saidhe was comfortable with a 10 percent rate increase.

Othercouncil members agreed and Councilman Dan Picard agreed, but felt the cityshould raise the rate more than the proposed 10 percent.

“Ifwe have the opportunity, let’s do it,” Picard said. “We’re only talking about afew bucks a month.”

Cityofficials said based on 1,000 cubic feet of sewer usage, a rate payer will seetheir monthly charge go up $2 a month or from $21.10 to $23.10 a month. Theaverage family of four in Middletownuses about 1,000 cubic feet a month.

Therewill be no increase in the city’s water rate at this time. The current waterrate is $13.63 for using 1,000 cubic feet a month, which is about 22,500gallons.

Asof Dec. 31, 2014, Middletownhas 19,500 accounts however, the average delinquency rate is 14 percent.