Water and sewer rates increasing in Fremont, inflation costs can’t be absorbed
FREMONT ― Fremont city administration, citing increased costs, told city council it could no longer keep from increasing water and sewer rates.
Final budget appropriations were also approved at $68 million.
While the police department budget increased to $5.1 million from $4.8 million, other departments had cuts. The fire department dropped from $3.4 million in 2023 to $3.2 million. The parks department dropped from $4.2 million to $2.4 million.
The water and sewer rate increases were attributed to the increased costs of chemicals, sludge hauling, required software upgrades, lagoon cleaning, granulated activated carbon recharging, heat and power.
Costs to run the water treatment plant have almost doubled in the past five years. In 2019 the costs were $2.8 million, and in 2024 they are budgeted to be $4.96 million.
The largest increase is in chemicals, which cost $646,389 in 2019, and five years later will cost $1.5 million. However, sludge hauling went from $20,961 in 2019 to $170,000 in the 2024 budget.
City council on Thursday approved requests from the city administration to increase water and sewer rates. Sewer rate increases were approved by city council Thursday on a third reading of the ordinance. Water rates are determined by the safety service director and would also need increasing.
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In a presentation given by the city administration, Bob Gross, temporary safety service director, noted the increases are primarily due to inflation, and the city has absorbed as much cost as possible. To sustain the water system, those costs need to be passed on to consumers. He added that Sandusky, Findlay and the Bowling Green area have had to make similar changes.
The water rate in 2024 will increase by 9% and the sewer rate by 5%. The combined rate increases are 7.3% in 2024, 7.4% in 2025 and 2026, and 4.5% in 2027 and 2028.
The administration reported to council that the impact on a household of three inside the city is estimated to increase from a 2023 range of $87.24-$107.84 to $93.59-$115.63 in 2024. For that same household outside the city, the 2023 range of $126.38–$152.12 would increase to $137.20-$164.72.
A rate study conducted by Jones and Henry Engineers in May projected recent cost increases and expenses.
Both water and sewer department maintenance has also increased, by approximately $220,000 since last year.
“The price of brass, it’s doubled in the last couple years. All your service lines are all brass. The copper, it’s all doubled in price. Copper tubing, it’s also basically a commodity. It’s more than doubled, if not tripled in price,” said Bob Ward Jr., superintendent for the Water/Sewer Maintenance Department,. “PVC, brass, copper, ductile iron, stainless steel, it’s all gone up to double or more in the last few years.”
Mark Allison, Water and Sewer Maintenance Department foreman, gave the example of PVC pipe costs. PVC is a petroleum product, pegging it to the cost of oil, as a commodity.
“With 8-inch C900 PVC pipe, it was $8.11 per foot, and now it’s gone to $22.40. Everything runs on the price of petroleum,” Allison said. “Fire hydrants, and they are bid items, for a regular 5-foot American-Darling, they used to be $1,800 four years ago. Now they are $3,725, and a year ago we paid $2,380.”
Ward said it’s hard to tell how many they go through in a year.
“We try to rebuild them, rather than replace them, because of the price, but I’d say as many as a dozen. The ones that get hit, if they are real old, we just change them out,” Ward said. “I wish we could go back before COVID. It’s unbelievable the price difference. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen it in my life. It’s just nuts.”
Industrial waste prices will also increase, but Gross noted there are only a half-dozen companies to which it would apply and those numbers are dependent on several factors, including pretreatment options.
The city administration noted two options for assistance: the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership 567-432-5046, and the Sandusky County Share and Care, located at 129 Bidwell Ave. in Fremont.
419-332-2674
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Fremont OH increases water, sewer rates to contend with inflation
