City responds to angst over water rate hike

Administrators for the city of Findlay are working to respond to public angst over the 50% water rate hike effective Jan. 1. The administration laid out plans for the rate increase at a Nov. 9 meeting of city council's Water and Sewer Committee. Committee members include Grant Russel, R-at-large, Josh Palmer, R-7, and Randy Greeno, R-at-large. The committee voted unanimously to recommend that council support the proposal. Council is expected to consider supporting the rate increase at its regular meeting Tuesday. The meeting will meet at 6 p.m. in the Findlay Municipal Building, 318 Dorney Plaza. All council meetings are open to the public and are livestreamed on the city's YouTube channel: Findlay Ohio. Service-Safety Director Rob Martin has the authority to raise the water rate without council's approval, but the administration is seeking its support. Auditor Jim Staschiak has argued that more information is needed to justify the rate increase. In a statement issued Friday, Martin said he would encourage Findlay water users to focus on the dollar impact of their individual utility bills. "Each situation is different and will be impacted based on the meter diameter and household consumption which will ultimately determine the utility bill increase," he said. "This approach is more valuable for the consumer rather than seeing a 50% increase which can be alarming and misleading. The reason is, as previously mentioned, the water portion of the utility bill is the only portion that will be increasing, not the sanitary or stormwater portions. Additionally, the water portion of the individual bill will be increased by approximately $8.48 and $43.32. Again, this will vary based on meter diameter and household water consumption." The new rate would increase monthly water bills between $11.61 and $13.98 each month for a family of three, depending on the home's meter size, or between $139.32 and $167.76 for the year, according to the proposal. Without the rate increase, administrators said the water department will begin operating in the red next year. Findlay's last rate increase was made in 2011. Since 2012, expenses have increased 13%. In 2022 alone, chemical prices rose between 40 to 50%. Through 2031, improvement needs are expected to be more than $50 million. For now, only a single rate increase is being discussed, as opposed to rate increases over multiple years. The rate increase would address the need for operating revenue until a long-term plan can be developed. On Friday, Martin said "Without raising rates for over a decade, as the service provider, the City has absorbed as much cost as possible to the point where it is necessary to pass on some of the cost to the end user to maintain solvency of the water fund and sustainability of our water system." City officials have said about $6.6 million in capital and operating expenses have been eliminated to help balance the books in recent years. More information on the rate increase, including a new question-and-answer section, is available on the city's website at www.findlayohio.gov