As we came back to Council meetings after our annual August break, I was completely caught off guard by the news that the Adminstration/Service Department were seeking sewer rate increases. Normally we get legislation the Friday before Monday meetings, giving us time to look it over and develop questions in advance of meeting with departments. This legislation didn’t arrive until Monday morning, and while the Service Director is not asking us to pass it immediately, Council is taking time to dig in and see what options we may have.
I get it, all utilities are going up, along with property taxes, food and other necessities, and this is never an easy discussion to have. And unlike gas, electric and cable companies, we’re just trying to cover our costs, not make a profit. We all need to remember, the city is not only trying to maintain and improve our 100 year old sewer system, we’ve spent more than $1.2 Billion due to the Akron Waterways Renewed program mandated by a federal consent decree. While there have been grants to cover some costs, most are financed with low interest loans, and the debt service payments are growing.
Akron has not had a sewer rate increase in 10 years and yet the Consumer Price Index(CPI) has gone up 36%. So not only do we have debt service payments, our costs ( like your’s) are rising and realistically we need to take some kind of increase. There are adjustments for those on the County’s Homestead Exemption and HEAP programs included in the request which will help seniors and those struggling to make ends meet. I do appreciate that this is a scaled multi- year increase and not a huge lump sum up front, and I know my colleagues on Council are looking at all options to keep rates low. If we do approve an increase I can guarantee it will be only what is absolutely needed.