News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Celina Board of Aldermen approved the first reading of an ordinance Tuesday that will increase water rates by $2.20.
Mayor Luke Collins said the State Comptroller’s Office recommended the change to bring the price to $10.80 per 1000 gallons.
“The city of Celina water department has lost money in water five years in a row,” Collins said. “Last year, $255,000 or something close to that is what the audit will show. Obviously, we can not continue that.”
Collins said if action was not taken by the board, then the state would have came in and forced the increase. Collins said the office has also recommended Celina passes a two to three percent rate increase each year from now on to stay in the green.
“So that you don’t have these big huge jumps,” Collins said. “They said utility districts that do it that way are successful and don’t have the problems, but if you wait until you are so far behind then it is a big jump. He also said that it’s our job to take care of this, and if we don’t do it, him and his Comptroller team will come in and do it. We will not like it when they come in and do it. They would probably double the rates or maybe even more than that.”
According to City Attorney Jimmy White, the Comptroller’s Office does not allow a municipality to lose money on water for over three years. White said the last administrations only raised the rate once causing the issue.
“They raised them some at the time and were supposed to raise them again yearly to try to catch up,” White said. “Apparently they didn’t do that. We raised them the one time and then it sort of dropped. Well, now we are back here again, and I’m sure the Comptroller’s Office is getting kind of idle promises.”
Collins said if the rate passes a second reading and a public hearing, it will go into effect this October.
A water rate increase was not the only change to made to utilities Tuesday. The Board of Aldermen approved another ordinance on first reading regarding service and reconnection fees.
Home owners will have to pay $150 to turn on water service, and renters will need to pay $75. Reconnection fees were raised to $100.
