Progress toward refurbishing the city of Tallulah’s aging water plant hit a bump in the road toward funding the project at the City of Tallulah’s regular city council meeting Thurs., Jan. 28, after council members voted unanimously not to raise water rates citywide.
The proposed hike in water rates for both residential and commercial customers would have generated revenue city officials said would have been allocated for helping repay a pending loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) needed to help fit the $7.8 million bill for refurbishing the plant.
In a public hearing held during Thursday’s regular meeting, several Tallulah residents expressed concerns over the proposed rate increases, also questioning the reasoning behind planned residential rate hikes totaling more per month than those proposed for commercial customers.
“Like I said, if it were all the same, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I’d probably have just said ‘okay’ and paid my bill,” resident Sandra Patterson-Love told the council. “But when businesses are only paying a little more and we’re being asked to pay $10, $15 more and we can’t even use the water. That’s not fair.”
While city officials said state studies showed commercial customers use more water per month than residential properties, thus requiring a smaller increase in order to maintain equal rate hikes across the board, residents in attendance said the increases should look the same on paper and also questioned the use of current revenue generated from water bills.
“We want better accountability with money that we’re taking in now,” resident Toriano Wells said. “If we can find out where the funds are going now, then citizens will be more receptive.”
Under the proposed water-rate increase voted down Thursday, residential customers stood to see an increase in a flat fee of $30 and a rate of $4.50 per 1000 gallons of water to a $35 flat fee and a $6.75-per-1000-gallons rate, for an overall increase of just over $12 per month. Commercial customers stood to see flat fee of $50, which would remain the same, and a rate increase from $5.50 per 1000 gallons, to $6.75, for an average monthly increase of $44.
Following the hearing, District 2 City Councilman Martez Robinson made the motion to not raise water rates, which was seconded by District 3 Councilman Andrew Sims before being approved by the overall council.
Following the vote, Mayor Charles Finlayson said now the city must return to the drawing board and find a way to pay for refurbishing the failing plant.
“The ordinance that was introduced two weeks ago to increase the water rates for the City of Tallulah did not pass as expected,” Finlayson said. “I want to be clear with all of our citizens: We have major problems with our water plant and in order to fix those problems it is going to take all of us working together. I am determined to find a suitable solution that is fair to both our residential and commercial customers. If we want better water, then we are going to have to pay for it. No one is going to have to bear the costs alone. We are all going to have to make sacrifices together. I will be working with the council to re-introduce another ordinance with revised water rates that I believe will be equitable for everyone. I ask all of our citizens to work with me as we try and move forward with our water issues.”
