HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-25-10 Council considers rate increase to meet sewer mandates
Office of the Mayor
NEWS RELEASE
June 25, 2010
Council considers rate increase to meet sewer mandates
Contact:
Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564
or Gary Gilot, Director of Public Works, 235-9251
The South Bend Common Council will conduct a public hearing Monday on a proposed
sewer-rate increase to fund the next phase of federally mandated improvements to reduce
basement backups and combined sewer overflows into the St. Joseph River.
To comply with the Clean Water Act, the City of South Bend must implement a 20-year,
$400-million plan for the long-term control of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Since
2006, the City has invested $43 million to reduce CSOs and the problems associated with
them. Work has included expansion of the 54-year-old Wastewater Treatment Plant and
extensive efforts to separate combined sewers and build capacity for additional storage.
Between 2010 and 2013, the City must spend another $54 million to make continued
progress on the long-term control plan. Projects will include additional separation of
storm and sanitary sewers, expanded capacity to retain storm water and a greater
emphasis on green solutions, which address storm drainage through natural alternatives
on-site.
Where sewer rates increased in stages by a cumulative 79 percent between 2006 and
2009, proposed rate increases over the next four years will be about half as much. The
Council is considering increases of 8 percent in 2010 (beginning July 1) and 9 percent
annually in 2011-13. For the average homeowner, it will mean an increase of about a
dime a day. Other rates on the monthly South Bend utilities bill are expected to hold
steady or decrease over the same period. (That would result in less than a 3 percent
increase in residents’ total municipal utility bill.)
Even after four years of the proposed increases, South Bend sewer rates will still be lower
than current rates in Mishawaka and other Indiana cities.
“We need to meet both federal targets and our citizens’ expectations to address public-
health concerns and preserve the beauty of the river,” said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke.
“During consent-decree negotiations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Justice have been clear: Regardless of the economic hardship in our
community, we must make substantial progress toward the goal or face the threat of legal
action and daily noncompliance fines.”
Progress in the first four years has been significant. The number of basement backups
declined by 20 percent in 2009 when compared with 2005. The City also reduced
overflow to the river – 60 million gallons fewer in 2009 than in 2005.
“This is a 20-year solution. These types of problems can’t be solved in four years,” said
Public Works Director Gary Gilot. “This is about getting sewage out of basements,
reducing combined storm-sanitary sewer overflows into the St. Joseph River and
enhancing our quality of life in the process.”
The public hearing will take place before second and third reading of a rate-increase
ordinance, which the Council will review for adoption. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in
the fourth-floor Council Chambers of the County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd.
The administration’s proposed rate increase being considered by the Council includes
steps by Mayor Luecke and the Council to buffer the burden on rate-payers, keeping
annual increases to single digits:
First, an administrative change will help generate nearly $12 million in capital for
the long-term control plan. The South Bend Sewer Utility makes a payment in
lieu of taxes (PILOT) to the City’s operational budget. That payment will be
capped at 5 percent annual growth to allow the utility to self-fund some of the
needed capital investment.
Second, the City of South Bend will pledge $10 million from Economic
Development Income Tax (EDIT) funds over the next four years to support
economic development-related investment in the long-term control plan.
For detailed information about South Bend’s CSO long-term control plan and the
proposed sewer-rate increase, visit www.SouthBendIN.gov/cso
The site includes:
The 2010 River Report, a 12-page document that explains the nationwide
challenge of CSOs, outlines work done to date, describes projects planned in the
next phase of work and features reports on innovative, cost-saving solutions, such
as CSOnet, through which South Bend is becoming the world’s first city to
monitor and control overflows with technology.
A rate study and comparative figures about sewer rates in other communities.
A letter from Mayor Luecke to business leaders about the proposed increase.
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South Bend
Wastewater rate history
Year Percentage Increase
1988 - 2002 No increases
2003 24% (effective 7/1/2003)
2004 No increase
2005 5%
200629%
200715%
200811%
2009 9%
2010 8%* (effective 7/1/2010)
2011 9%*
2012 9%*
2013 9%*
* Proposed
Survey of Sewer Rates
Indiana Cities and Towns over 30,000 Population
2000 Census Sewer Rate Residential Monthly
City/Town Population Effective Date Sewer Bill (1)
Mishawaka (2) 46,557 2010 $44.26
Anderson (3) 59,734 2009 $43.17
South Bend – proposed 107,789 2013 $42.05
South Bend – proposed 107,789 2012 $38.59
Columbus 39,059 2009 $37.77
South Bend – proposed 107,789 2011 $35.42
New Albany 37,603 2009 $33.67
Gary (3) 102,746 2008 $32.50
South Bend – proposed 107,789 2010 (effective 7/1) $32.50
Lawrence 38,915 2009 $30.42
South Bend – current 107,789 2009 $30.08
Kokomo 46,113 2006 $29.95
Fishers 37,835 2000 $26.00
Richmond (3) 39,124 2009 $25.89
Bloomington 69,291 2005 $25.06
Lafayette 56,397 2008 $25.01
Michigan City 32,900 2005 $24.33
Evansville 121,582 2008 $23.67
Portage 33,496 2009 $23.50
Fort Wayne (2) 205,727 2009 $23.27
Muncie (2) (3) 67,430 2010 $22.51
Elkhart (2) 51,874 2010 $22.02
Indianapolis (2) (3) 781,870 2010 $20.86
Carmel 37,733 2009 $18.14
Terre Haute (3) 59,614 2005 $16.57
Greenwood 36,037 1998 $15.55
Hammond (3) 83,048 2008 $13.38
Marion 31,320 1992 $10.51
(1)Based on 5/8-inch meter monthly billing for 6.68 hundred cubic feet (CCF) or 5,000 gallons
(2)Rate increase expected
(3)Subsidized by property tax