RISING RATES Delta Village Administrator Andy Glenn explains the decision making process behind recent water and sewer rate increases to a crowd of residents at the Delta Village Council meeting
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Delta Village Administrator Andy Glenn walked through the logic behind a recent major increase to water and sewer rates for a sometimes-boisterous public during the most recent meeting of the Delta Village Council.
The rates increased in September from $3.93 and $4.24 per 100 cubic feet for water and sewer respectively to $9 and $8.50 for village residents and $15 and $12.75 for county residents, following much discussion by the council and two votes on the matter.
All customers are also charged a $31 base fee for water service and a $13.48 base fee for sewer service.
According to Glenn, the original rate increase plan proposed by his predecessor Brad Peebles was to base the increases on a per-tap basis instead of a usage-based rate change.
Village users would have been forced to pay a base fee of $157.30 instead of $31, and county users would have had to pay $80.02, with village residents having an average total bill of more than $236.
Under the approved plan, the same usage costs village residents only $113, with county residents seeing little change at $151 versus $160 in the original plan.
Prior to the originally proposed tap-based plan, Glenn said Peebles had suggested closing the water facility entirely and purchasing all of Delta’s water from Toledo, leaving them subject to the city’s needs and interests without any control or direct representation for village residents.
If anything went wrong and the city had to decide who received water first, “it wouldn’t be Delta,” he said.
A breakdown presented by Glenn indicated the $31 base fee covers service of the existing debt on the water facility, initially built 20 years ago under what he called false pretenses.
Glenn stated that it was originally presented to the village that the filters in the system – which are unique and only available from one company in Australia – would last 10 years but ended up lasting six years for the first set and as few as three years since.
In fact, Glenn said there was an investigation into that deal by the Fulton County prosecutor. Add to that problem a “dire” need for other repairs, upgrades, and expansions to both the water facility and the sewer facility, he said, and the rates prior to the increase did not even cover existing costs.
The total cost of the needed work is estimated at between $10 million and $15 million total.
Included in that amount is the complete replacement of the filter system within the facility with a more universal system that will allow for price shopping on the filters from among multiple providers to get a better deal.
One concerned resident asked why there was such a huge jump in the rates at once. According to Glenn and council members, the consensus was to wait until they had the full project scope and costs determined and make the entire increase in one fell swoop rather than passing one lesser but still large increase and then have to come back and increase it again at a later date.
Glenn said the rates, which are based on worst-case scenario costs, will be reviewed in 2025. If the village is successful in getting grants for the project and if it comes in at a lower price than expected, he said it is possible the rates may be reduced to some extent.
In his regular report to the council later in the meeting, Glenn outlined ongoing jet pump issues at the wastewater treatment facility.
Of the three pumps, one is completely inoperable and a second has been continually blowing a breaker and needing to be reset.
The only pump that matches both the type and horsepower is in Sweden, and there are only two matching the type (but with a lower horsepower) available in the U.S.
The decision was made to purchase one of the lower horsepower models and use it while the broken pump is sent out to be rebuilt, then repeat the process for the remaining malfunctioning pump after the first pump comes back.
Glenn said the pump failures are a consequence of the plant running for two years without a functioning screen, which has caused rags and debris to jam up the pumps.
OTHER BUSINESS
The council voted to stop collecting the pool levy from taxpayers due to its planned demolition and passed a measure to approve a contract with Klumm Brothers to demolish the pool and pool house at a cost of $70,060.
It was reported that the 2023 Delta Chicken Festival raised $11,415. The next council meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, November 6.
Jesse can be reached at jesse@thevillagereporter.com