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May 15, 2012

Water: headaches by the gallon

Jeanne Grimes, Staff Writer, jgrimes@chickashanews.com Express-Star

Chickasha’s water rates drew scrutiny Monday evening when the city council gathered for a work session at city hall.

City Manager Stewart Fairburn said the 2010 water rates were progressive, with the cost per 1,000 gallons going up in each bracket - up to 2,000 gallons, 2,001 to 6,000, 6,001 to 10,000, 10,001 to 14,000, 14,001 to 18,000 and 18,001 and up.

Those rate brackets were changed in 2011 to up to 2,000 gallons, 2,001 to 25,000 gallons, 25,001 to 50,000, 50,001 to 75,000, 75,001 to 100,000 and 100,001 and up.

Under that rate schedule, the first 2,000 gallons cost $8.80 and the rates for each additional 1,000 gallons range from $2.40 to $3.20.

But instead of an across-the-board 10 percent increase, some customers actually saw water bills decrease by as much as 13 percent, while others had increases of 1 to 10 percent.

One option, Fairburn said, would be to charge a flat rate for every 1,000 gallons. Customers using between 6,001 and 50,000 gallons could expect to pay 11 to 23 percent higher water bills, while the increase over current charges would range from 1 to 18 percent, respectively for usage between 200,000 and 75,000 gallons. Monthly consumption of 500,000 to 2 million gallons would result in water bills 5 to 8 percent lower than now.

Councilmember Howard Carpenter questioned if the city would be going back on its word that water rates wouldn’t raise more than 10 percent a year and Phylis Steelman said the flat rate could penalize residents who “really try to maintain their yards” - a major push of the city’s beautification plan.

“The thing that sounds simple - a flat rate - isn’t so simple,” Fairburn agreed.

 

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