News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Celina Aldermen raised the cost for all new water taps installed to account for inflation Tuesday night.
The new fees will cost $1,500 for a water tap inside the city and $2,000 for one outside the city, increases of $500. Mayor Luke Collins said the city was losing money every time it installed a tap.
“This puts us at a break-even point,” Collins said. “So, you know, we don’t want to, don’t want to lose money and it’s not fair for the taxpayers, you know, of Celina to have to pay for that, so anyway we just want to – want to break even on it.”
Collins said the city of Celina had the lowest rates for a water hookup of any city in the area before the ordinance. He said the new price will bring the city closer to what other cities are charging.
“There’s been a pretty good jump in the price of everything,” Collins said. “All the brass fittings, the meters, labor costs, I mean everything has went up, and I’m not for sure how long we’ve been losing money at this.”
Alderman Lester Westmoreland said that the city’s water department confirmed that the price increase is just enough to stop the city from losing money during those transactions.
