Rise in utility bills in summer 2010  

Utility bills for some have doubled over last year.  That's because when the Council last summer approved the new rates it eliminated the winter quarter discount.  This means that bills are now calculated on 100% of sewer usage in the winter quarter. 

For the record, I voted "no" on these new rates.

I believe these complaints are justified because you are paying for sewer service you don't use.

Council held a discussion in January 2010 about whether to allow residents (especially with underground sprinklers) to buy "deduct meters," which allow you to deduct the amount of water from your sprinkler that goes into the sewage system.  Many town systems provide for this.

But Council balked because the utility fund is in a deficit and the utility department bureaucrats said they could be unsafe and inaccurate.  

Let's look back at WHY we are in a deficity and how utility dept. officials have bamboozled council members for years:

1. A majority of Council in 2005-06 voted to expand the water and sewer treatment plants to the tune of $66 million.  This move was pushed by the Utilities Dept. bureaucrats who said we needed newer equipment to meet EPA requirements -- which was true.  But they also wanted new offices for themselves and wanted to expand the system, though the Council at that time was opposed to the very growth needed to pay for that expansion.  So, the Council failed to ask some basic questions about the need for floating these bonds and just rubber-stamped what the bureaucrats wanted.

2.  Some $7 million of that money went to spanking new offices and air-conditioned truck bays for the utility line maintenance folks -- who spend most of their time in the field!  This gold-colored building can be seen from the new section of Battlefield Parkway as you drive toward Route 7 (it is on the right).

3  Because growth never happened and the economy tanked, some 1/3 of the space in the water and sewer plants is NOT BEING SOLD!  This means that despite raising rates 30% last summer on in-town residents, the utility fund is still operating in the RED.

4.  The 2005 Council voted to foot the cost of these unwise expansions on out-of-town residents.  Those residents sued us in court and won.

5.  Judge Thomas Horne in April 2009 ordered the Town Council  to institute a reduction for these customers by Sept. 1

6.  Water/sewer rates were NOT raised from 1992 to 2005, so the utility fund was nearly depleted.  

7.  Because of these decisions, in-town rates have risen since 2006 by an average 35% for sewer service and 21% for water.

8.  The utilities department is an "enterprise fund."  This means NO tax dollars support it.  It is supposed to be sustained by water and sewer bills, plus "availability fees" (the charges businesses and developers pay to hook up to the system."

9.  The department is running about a $1.3 million deficit each year, despite the increases the mayor and Council imposed in 2005. 

In my business, if times are tough, I cut costs, and seek additional business.  But the town council is afraid to cut services and jobs. 

We have cut five positions from the department since 2004, so we can cut more.  There have been several retirements lately, too.

But council keeps approving wasteful capital costs that YOU are paying for through higher utility bills -- such as $15 million for extending the sewer system south of town, though the primary customers are Bohlen Park and the jail!  Or, $187,000 for a high-tech camera to scour the sewer lines.  Then, we spent millions to repaint water tanks.

You should NOT have to pay for past mistakes in the management of this utility department by weak politicians.

Please write us at Council@leesburgva.gov

Urge cuts in expenses and finding new sources of revenue BEFORE raising rates.

Thank you

Ken Reid

Councilmanreid@FDAINFO.com

Staff and Consultant proposals for water and sewer rate increases.

During the council work session on Monday July 27th Town Manager John Wells joined by other members of Town Staff and the consultants hired to complete the rate study presented their recommended changes in the Town's utility rates.

The town is reviewing and modifying rates in order to comply with a court order regarding the rates charged to out of town customers and to insure that the town is in compliance with the revenue requirements of the bonded debt incurred by the Utility Fund and insuring that the Utility Fund remains self sufficient. No taxpayer dollars are used to pay for operation of the Utility Fund, the fund operates solely from fees collected from water and sewer bills, as well as connection fees.