Wasilla wants to be flush with cash

Frontiersman

WASILLA — To cover losses, depreciation and capital improvements, the city council voted Monday to increase rates paid for city water and sewer services by 100 percent over the next five years.

The increases are much needed, Mayor Verne Rupright said prior to Monday’s city council vote. There was never anything built into the rates to cover replacement costs or maintenance. Repairs were covered using funds from sales tax revenues, but that money only goes so far, he said.

“We’re getting to the breaking point. Some lines are 20 some odd years old,” Rupright said. “When they start to break down, where’s that money going to come from?”

Rupright said he understands the 6-1 decision — with Councilwoman Leone Harris the only “no” vote — will put a hardship on residents, but the new rates will be more in line with other city sewer and water systems.

“I’ve only been mayor for seven months,” Rupright said last month. “You have a couple of other administrations before that were well aware of the problem. This is something that’s not going to go away by ignoring it.”

Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny was the only member of the public to speak at the meeting Monday. She was not opposed to a rate increase, just the way the city is going to do it.

An increase in the flat rate would put an added burden on retired seniors living on fixed incomes, she said. Kilkenny instead proposed a progressive rate schedule based on actual usage, not a minimum amount of 5,000 gallons of water per household.

“We don’t want our senior citizens selling bottled water from their front doors because they can’t afford their water bill and they are not using their minimum amount,” Kilkenny said.

Asked by the council to respond, Public Works director Archie Giddings said the flat rate will recoup the basic cost the city incurs to get water to the site.

“We have a cost just to be able to have that service available 24 hours a day,” Giddings said.

Councilman Kristofer Larson said Wasilla ratepayers have been paying a lot less than residents of other cities with sewer and water services. Unlike with septic systems and wells, the homeowner is not liable for the repair costs if something breaks in the city’s system, he said.

“There are a lot of things someone gets by being on a city water and sewer system that can’t be put into a dollar amount,” Larson said.

Councilmembers Larson, Ron Cox, Doug Holler, Nancy Hall, and Dianne Woodruff all voted for the new rate structure.

The rates will increase Sept. 1 and will jump again on July 1 of each following year through 2013.

The minimum rate for city water is set to increase to $34.13 per month this September and will cap at $45.47 in 2013. Customers with only city sewer will see their rates jump to $49.13 in September, rising to $65.61 in 2013. The minimum rate for both sewer and water service will go to $72.76 this year and $97.15 in 2013.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.

BREAKOUT BOXES

How they voted:

Ron Cox - Yes

Doug Holler - Yes

Leone Harris - No

Nancy Hall - Yes

Dianne Woodruff - Yes

Kristofer Larson - Yes