WESTMINSTER : Residents Denounce Water-Rate Hike

For the second time in two weeks, a boisterous group of residents furious over a recent water-rate hike attempted to persuade the City Council to reconsider the increase.

More than 200 people jammed the council chambers Tuesday to protest the rate increase unanimously approved six months ago, which doubled the price of water from 63 cents per 748 gallons to $1.26 per 748 gallons.

Howard Jones, 63, presented the council with a petition signed by 1,472 residents demanding rate rollbacks, saying that “there are people who cannot afford to pay” the increased charges.

The rate issue has sharply divided the council over recent months, with Mayor Charles V. Smith and Councilmen Frank Fry Jr. and Craig Schweisinger supporting it, and Councilwomen Joy L. Neugebauer and Lyn Gillespie opposing it. The councilwomen said they originally approved the increase because they believed it called for doubling the rate only for high-volume water users.

At the meeting, city Finance Director Brian Mayhew presented a report showing that the city historically has subsidized water rates, usually selling water for only 50% to 60% of the cost of delivering it. Over the past five years, the city has spent $16.6 million on water-rate subsidies.

Even with the rate increase, Mayhew said, the city still subsidizes water delivery by 18 cents per 748 gallons. The monthly water bill has increased from $11.37 to $23.29 for the average family. The county average is $24.25.

The councilmen contend that to keep the water rates low, funding for city services, especially police and fire services, would have to be cut $3.4 million, an allegation that Neugebauer and Gillespie deny.