Rate increases for sewer services from the Pearl River County Utility Authority have been tabled for a month.
Several Hide-A-Way Lake residents attended Thursday’s meeting to share their thoughts on the proposed increase.
The proposed increase would bring HAWL residents to the same rate and usage minimum as Picayune residents. Currently Picayune residents pay $29.75 for 3,000 gallons of sewer service while HAWL residents pay $24.75 for 4,000 gallons of the same service.
If the rate increase is approved, then both HAWL and Picayune residents will pay $29.75 for 3,000 gallons of sewer service.
The only other residential rate change proposed is an increase for the price of an additional 1,000 gallons of service, bringing the charge from $2.50 to $3. Tap fees are also proposed to increase. A water tap fee would increase from $350 to $750, while a sewer tap would increase from a minimum of $450 to a minimum of $1,000. These figures do not include commercial tap fees, which are also proposed to increase. Most commercial usage rates will remain the same, with the exception of the additional 1,000 gallons, which is also proposed to increase from $2.50 to $3.
After Thursday’s discussion, Executive Director Ray Scott said the rate increase was tabled until the meeting in March so Scott could look over some information provided to the board by HAWL resident Skip Cameron. Cameron said he looked through the rate study conducted recently, and was able to determine that HAWL residents are paying their way, if not subsidizing use by Picayune residents.
Cameron said he would like to see the base gallon usage stay the same at 4,000 gallons, and incremental increases take place instead of an increase all at once.
“Hide-A-Way Lake revenue and rate usage covers the cost,” Cameron said. “We are paying our way.”
Scott feels the information Cameron based his assessment on was old, since it was based on the rate study provided to the Utility Authority. Scott said the information used in Cameron’s report was valid up until 2014, meaning it’s going on two years old. However, Scott said he will review the information and present his findings at the meeting in March. However, the fact remains the rates are different for customers in different areas.
“At the end of the day we can do that calculation all day long, they are paying less than the rest of the customer base,” Scott said about HAWL residents.
Later in the meeting Scott answered some of the questions left by those who attended the Public Hearing about a week prior.
One of the questions asked entailed the possibility of the Utility Authority just metering for sewage usage. Scott said to do that would be inconsistent with how other customers are being billed.
As for the reduction of minimum usage from 4,000 gallons to 3,000 gallons, Scott estimated the proposed change would impact only about 40 percent of the customers.
It is anticipated the board will revisit the proposed rate increases at the next meeting, set for March 17, at 2 p.m. at the Picayune treatment plant on Neal Road.