WESTMINSTER : Council OKs 21% Hike in Water Rates

Residents will face a 21% increase in their water bills--about $3 more a month--as the result of a newly approved city budget.

Rates will rise from 73 cents to 89 cents for every 748 gallons of water used.

The 10-member Financial Review Committee, appointed by the City Council, recommended the rate increase after months of deliberations. Under the 89-cent rate, effective immediately, the average household using 15,000 gallons of water each month would find its water bill rising from $14.64 to $17.84, not including the city’s 5% utility tax.

“The rate is the actual cost of water as we determined it,” said Earl French, chairman of the committee that was formed last November specifically to determine water rates. The committee will now focus on the entire financial structure of the city.

“It is as fair as we could possibly come up with,” French said. “We wish we didn’t have to raise the rates, but it is still one of the lower rates in the county. I feel good about it.”

But many are unhappy about the increase, including Councilwomen Joy L. Neugebauer and Lyn Gillespie, who voted against the budget.

“We never received accurate figures, and I don’t believe (the increase) is justified,” Gillespie said.

Gillespie also charged that the water fund is subsidizing other departments.

Mayor Charles V. Smith maintained that the rate is bare-bones. He also said that water is a separate fund and that any money going to other departments from the water fund is merely paying for services performed for the water department.

Howard Jones, a resident who led the fight against water rate hikes, was also dismayed by the approval of the increase.

“Seventy-three cents is sufficient to cover the cost of water,” he said. “They should find the money they need somewhere else besides the citizens’ pockets.”

The water rate was doubled in 1991 and was raised from 63 cents to 73 cents for 748 gallons at the beginning of this year.

Westminster provides water service for most of the city and about half of unincorporated Midway City.