HELEN – Helen water and sewer customers can expect to pay more starting in July.
During a called meeting to finalize the FY2020 budget Tuesday, the Helen City Commission voted unanimously to increase the base rates for water and sewer by 50 cents each, and to bump the per-thousand-gallon cost for water by 20 cents per 1,000 gallons for the upcoming fiscal year.
Helen is unique because of the number of hotel rooms and restaurants, so commercial water and wastewater are billed by residential equivalent units based on peak consumption.
The base rate for a residential equivalent unit for a water customer inside the city is $8, while it’s $15.50 outside the city. The wastewater base rate for sewer inside the city is $14.86, while the rate is $18.10 outside the city.
“About eight or nine years ago, we actually hit our residents with a large increase – nearly double what they were paying at the current time,” said City Manager Jerry Elkins. “Since that time, we’ve tried to plan and increase our water and sewer rates a little each year where it doesn’t affect them so greatly all at one time.”
The public outcry from that steep increase several years ago prompted city officials to begin annual rate increases to keep pace with the cost of producing water and treating wastewater, but currently the revenue is not offsetting the costs of production, treatment and system maintenance, necessitating the FY2020 increases.
Additionally, a change has been in place since that steep rate hike to level the field for all water and sewer users, Elkins said.
“We changed to the system we are on now, where they are charged by the residential equivalent [unit],” Elkins said. “A home is one, and like a motel is three rooms equal one residential equivalent rate, so we’re going to go up $1 a month on that cost, and then on the cost of water per 1,000 we’re going up 20 cents per 1,000, where we’ve been doing 10 or 15 [cents]. On sewer, that will be about another 30 cents, so you’re probably looking at a 50-cent per 1,000-gallon charge on the water and $1 on the residential equivalent unit. That’s water and sewer, the $1 is.”
As Elkins said, in the case of a lodging establishment, three rooms constitute a residential equivalent unit. For restaurants, eight indoor seats or 16 outdoor seats make up a residential equivalent unit.
For example, a commercial establishment with three REUs would pay a base bill of $24 for water and $44.58 for sewer, plus usage in accordance with a set cost schedule.
In addition to paying $1 more each month per REU for water and sewer beginning July 1, customers will pay 20 cents more per 1,000 gallons of water usage and 30 cents more per thousand gallons of sewage.
The current base rate for water for a residential equivalent unit inside the Helen city limits is $8, which with the approved change that will rise to $8.50. The base rate for sewer is $14.86 per REU, which will rise to $15.36.
Usage rates for in-city customers will increase from $2.55 per 1,000 gallons to $2.75 per 1,000 gallons for consumers who use one to 5,000 gallons. Similarly, in-city sewer customers currently paying $3.39 will pay $3.69 per 1,000 gallons for using one to 5,000 gallons.
