Wastewater customers in North Little Rock will see increased charges during each of the next five years, starting Jan. 1, under a proposal set to go before the North Little Rock City Council in October.
The proposal would raise sewer fees on monthly water bills for North Little Rock Wastewater Department customers by 8.1 percent starting Jan. 1. Ensuing increases would be 8.2 percent in 2017, 6.2 percent in 2018, 5.3 percent in 2019 and 4.9 percent in 2020, beginning Jan. 1 each year.
An ordinance is to be introduced at the Oct. 12 City Council meeting, said Marc Wilkins, executive director of the city's wastewater department. A public hearing and possible vote by city aldermen would then be set for the Oct. 26 council meeting, he said.
Though the proposal hasn't been introduced yet, a draft ordinance outlining the proposal is included in Central Arkansas Water's offer to Maumelle Water Management to become Maumelle's water provider, which is under consideration by the Maumelle utility's board of commissioners. The North Little Rock draft legislation is part of CAW's 132-page revised consolidation feasibility study presented to Maumelle Water Management's board Tuesday.
Maumelle Water Management provides water and sewer treatment services in Maumelle. Because Central Arkansas Water would only take over as Maumelle's water provider, CAW had asked North Little Rock Wastewater to participate in the feasibility study as an option for taking control of Maumelle's wastewater treatment. Wastewater charges for North Little Rock customers are included on monthly Central Arkansas Water bills.
The rate increases are necessary under a 2011 consent decree with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality for North Little Rock to correct frequent sewer overflows, Wilkins said. The state directed the city to reduce those overflows within a 10-year period.
"It's the next phase of capital improvement projects related to the sanitary sewer consent order," Wilkins said.
The consent decree led to previous sewer rate increases, which raised bills Jan. 1, 2014, to the current $25.48 monthly for 700 cubic feet, or about 5,000 gallons, of wastewater service -- the usage of an average customer, Wilkins said. The new increases would raise average bills to $27.55 next year, 29.80 in 2017, $31.65 in 2018, $33.33 in 2019 and $34.97 in 2020.
North Little Rock Wastewater has about 32,215 customer accounts, of which 28,900 are residential, according to the utility.
"It is what it is," North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith said recently about the proposed increases. "What the reality is going to be is we'll still be lower, or definitely equal, to other cities. I'm very comfortable with their proposal."
The 2016 rate would remain equal to or lower than in eight of 14 cities statewide used in a rate study for the North Little Rock utility.
North Little Rock's current rate is higher than that of Maumelle, Sherwood and Conway in Central Arkansas, but less than in Benton, Jacksonville and Little Rock when using comparable rate calculations of 700 cubic feet for an average user, according to the rate study.
"Not everybody uses the same measurement of usage," Wilkins said.
The rate proposal isn't connected to the possibility of Maumelle sewer services one day falling under North Little Rock Wastewater, Wilkins said, though Maumelle customers would share the same costs if that consolidation occurred. North Little Rock customer rates wouldn't be affected by Maumelle coming under North Little Rock Wastewater, Wilkins said.
"We would ask that those rates would apply to our customers in Maumelle, as well, and they would fund the capital improvements necessary to implement proactive collection for system operation and maintenance and capital improvements related to their treatment plant," Wilkins said.
North Little Rock has three wastewater treatment plants: Faulkner Lake, White Oak and Five Mile Creek.
Metro on 09/27/2015