With unanimous approval, the Newton City Council voted to increase the sanitary sewer rates by 5 percent Monday. The rates were last raised in May 2012 and by doing so now, city officials said they believe it will keep up with inflation and avoid larger future rate increases.
“Currently, Newton sanitary sewer rates are relatively low compared to similar cities in Iowa,” City Administrator Bob Knabel said in a council report.
With the increase, Newton would be less than the median rates for water use less than 10,000 cubic feet per month.
The impact on customers would be an increase of $.54 for those that use less than 1,500 gallons per month — or a monthly charge of $10.81. For an average household water usage of 4,500 gallons per month, the rate would increase by $1.30 — or to a total of $24.75 per month.
The increase was brought on due to inflation with personnel and operating costs increasing at an average of 1.8 percent during the past few years, according to city officials. It will also continue to provide funds for upcoming projects and to continue funding the Inflow and Infiltration Program.
“To fund capital projects and the I & I Program, an annual operation net of about $900,000 is needed,” Knabel said.
Additionally, several capital projects are needed to meet Iowa Department of Natural Resources permit requirements, Knabel said. One of the projects is an ultra-violet disinfection treatment that will cost an estimated $1.1 million. The city would like to finish the UV disinfection project without bonding but more planning and preliminary design is required to determine if that would be feasible.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com