02 City Council Min (6/14/04) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular Meeting City Council June 14, 2004 Page 10 Councilman Wilson asked if when he said correct the situation, did he mean raise the rates. Mr. Anderson said that was correct. Mr. Wilson asked if they didn't transfer so much, would that partially offset raising the water rates. Mr. Anderson indicated that was correct. Councilman Bell indicated that the water rates were not as high as the wastewater rates, which are up in the 85-90% group for costs for those services. He indicated that the Council had voted last year not to raise the water and wastewater rates. Councilman Wilson asked if most municipalities commonly handled their water and wastewater accounts by moving money. Mr. Klein said this was a pretty common practice. Councilman Wilson said he would hate for the City to make a rate increase based on the assumption that there are going to be more additions to the water treatment plant, since the consumption is declining every year. He said the decline in consumption is getting the City further into debt. He speculated that if Campbell's Soup or one of the other major water users closed, that revenue would go to zero and the citizens of Paris would go to the top of the list to take up the slack. Mr. Klein explained that the driver behind the suggest 5% increase was not the anticipated debt, but the operating reserves. Councilman Wilson pointed out in the rate study that 18% of the income is from water loss, which is lost in the system and not billed to anyone. He felt this cost is inherent system in the system and the large users should be participating in that cost. Mr. Klein said they did not because of where in the system they receive their water from. Mr. Wilson said he felt if more money was spent in repairs and new pipes to prevent so much water loss, it would be better. Mr. Klein said in the study, they voiced their concern that in cutting costs, they didn't eliminate necessary repairs and replacements.