Water customers will pay $5.37 more for using 2,000 gal in a month, in Belmont, Ohio. According to The Times Leader, the Belmont Village Council has adopted a new water and sewer rate structure that its members believe is more fair.
The Water Board President Kenny Davis said village water customers currently pay $52.63 per month for up to 2,000 gal of water and sewage. According to The Times Leader, customers are then charged 1.37 cent per gal for additional consumption. This leads to bills of $66.42 per month for 3,000 gal or $80.21 per month for 4,000 gal. The billing is based on a customer’s amount of water usage. The county treats sewage for the village and bills the community accordingly.
According to The Times Leader, the current bill for 2,000 gal breaks down as follows: $15.22 for 2,000 gal of water; $36.17 for sewer service, based on 2,000 gal of water usage; and $1.24 for the meter fee.
The new rate structure takes effect Jan. 1, 2019, and includes a base rate of $20. According to The Times Leader, the total amount is calculated by using the $20 base charge; $15 for 2,000 gal of water; and $23 for sewer service, based on the amount of water usage. The total monthly increase for 2,000 gal comes to $5.37.
Mayer Stanley Sobel said the new ordinance will base billing on the total amount of water a customer consumes during each billing period.
“The thing is, people like the elderly or someone who lives alone is paying the same amount as someone who is using way more water,” said Ricky Burkhead, Belmont’s fiscal officer, to The Times Leader. “So this could actually lower rates for some people but make them higher for other people. I am the fiscal officer over in Bethesda as well, and they had a similar change and I saw how that played out. I think it would be a good and fair change for the village.”
According to The Times Leader, Sobel said the village has 272 water customers. Davis estimated that average usage is 2,500-4,500 gal per month. Under the new rates, monthly bills for those amounts of usage would range from $67.50 to $105.50, respectively.