City Council begins water surcharge debate

QUINCY — The first speaker at Monday’s Quincy City Council meeting asked why it seemed residential customers would be taking the brunt of the City of Quincy’s proposed water rate increase.

“…Mr. Conte (Quincy’s director of engineering and utilities) said that 92 percent of the water customers in Quincy are residential and consume 41 percent of the water. However, they generate 53 percent of the revenue,” said Cathy Frederick. “Why are residential consumers subsidizing commercial consumers?”

The City of Quincy is looking at a flat increase in the residential water rates of $9 a month, which is an increase of more than 50 percent, as a way to offset the rising costs of associated with making the water from the Mississippi River consumable. The City Council heard the first ordinance reading Monday night and aldermen are expected to vote on some type of surcharge at the October 31 meeting.

The city’s Utilities Committee heard the proposal last week and acknowledged the need for an increase, but did not pass on any specific recommendation how to proceed. The proposed increases are based on the size of the water meter that a customer uses.

When Conte did address the Council, he said the cost of providing and disposing of water has increased 30 percent due to rising costs of energy, transportation and removing the sludge that is left over in the filtration process. That sludge must be hauled away and the city has three areas where it disposes of it that are all nearly full.

The City had been running an average surplus of about $2.5 million annually in its water and sewer funds over the last few years and Conte said, while revenue has been consistent, those funds have been spent on capital projects and debt service.

“It’s not the revenue that’s the problem,” Conte said, referring to the increase in expenses.

Conte referenced Quincy as having some of the lowest residential water and sewer rates in the state because of offset in revenue generated from the water use by the industrial customers.

In other action, the City Council:

• Approved a nearly $4 million bid from Leander Construction of Canton, Ill. for Phase 2 of the sewer pump replacement project at the city’s waste water treatment plant. The City will utilize a 1.3 percent loan on the $3.91 million from the Illinois EPA to pay for it and the loan will be paid back from the water and sewer fund.
• Tabled spending $25,000 on a comprehensive housing study. City Planner Chuck Bevelheimer confirmed the City would be working with Adams County and the Great River Economic Development Foundation on the study, which will cost $69,000. GREDF has secured a $54,000 grant from the state and the City and County will each chip in $7,500 to fully fund the study.