There doesn't seem to be much of an appetite for another set of increases to residential utility bills in Owensboro, Ky.
OMU plans to bring a set of proposals before the Owensboro City Commission on Tuesday, Aug. 7, that would raise water rates by 32% and issue up to $69 million in revenue bonds, primarily for the expansion of the William Cavin Water Treatment Plant, over the next two years. Officials with the public utility say the request is for only as much as they need and that, once complete, this project will have upgraded the city's water infrastructure and prevented major main breaks that have plagued the community in recent years.
Most of the people the Messenger-Inquirer asked Monday said they understand the need for some form of a water rate increase to fund the expansion of an Owensboro Municipal Utilities water treatment facility on the city's east end, but 32% , they say, is just too much.
"I can understand that they may need some extra money," said Dean Weber, 65, a recent retiree in Owensboro. "I think the rate increases they're proposing, though, are out of line. There are people who have to pay these increases at the expense of buying food for themselves and their children."
If the commission approves OMU's plan later this month, a two-step rate increase will go into effect in the city. Residential water rates will increase by 20% Oct. 1, followed by another 12% gain June 1, 2019. By 2020, the average residential customer's monthly bill would increase $5.09, and, according to a Burns & McDonnell water rate analysis, future rate increases would likely be needed in 2024.
Water rates for the county's three water districts and Whitesville Waterworks will increase as well, subject to a set of agreements OMU signed with them last month. The Messenger-Inquirer has filed an open records request for copies of those agreements and will compile those pass-through rate increases in full when they become available, likely later this week.
Those water rate increases are on top of a half-cent energy cost adjustment set to go into effect Dec. 1 of this year. One ECA was already applied to bills beginning in June. The two combined mean an average $11 monthly increase for consumers by the end of the year.
"It sucks," said Nicie Walton, 26, of Owensboro. "It's too much all at once. My OMU bill was $196 last month. That's the highest it's ever been — ever. OK, so they need some increase, but it needs to be lower."
An OMU bill for city ratepayers includes electricity and water service, in addition to sanitation and sewer fees, as well as school taxes.
Others were more cautious in their criticism.
"It seems too high to me," said Sue Fowler, 65, of Owensboro. "Thirty-two percent is an awful lot. I realize we need to replace an older plant, and I'm for that, but maybe they shouldn't take so much from us."
But the main breaks that left Fowler's household without water for two days last month had a major impact, she said. If OMU's plan to replace Plant A, where all of the major recent main breaks have occurred, can do away with those kinds of inconveniences altogether, she said she'd rethink her position.
And, in fact, interim OMU General Manager Kevin Frizzell has said the major main breaks in 1994, 2017 and 2018 would have been prevented if Plant A were shuttered and replacement by the Cavin plant alone at its proposed 30-million-gallon-a-day capacity. Officials can't promise that the community will never see a main break again, but much of the century-old underground infrastructure associated with the plant is expected to be off line by 2021.
According to the Burns & McDonnell analysis, too, OMU's recommended reserve levels couldn't take the hit of a water plant construction project either, leaving it on the ratepayers alone. Without it, existing OMU revenue couldn't even outpace debt service costs on the bonds for 2019.
For some, that's all they need to hear.
"I'm happy we're upgrading our infrastructure," said Annette Nichole Simmons, 28, of Owensboro. "I'm not worried about the rate increases. My kids need water, and I need water, so if it makes Owensboro a better place, it's worth it."
OMU spokeswoman Sonya Dixon said rate increases never come lightly, but this one is aimed at improving the delivery of water to customers in and around the city. For a public utility that doesn't make a profit, a rate increase like this is just a reflection of the costs it takes to make those improvements.
"Everyone is asking for a bite of your budget," she said. "But we're only asking for what we need. The last thing we ever want to do is increase rates, but very clearly the reason we're doing it is to improve our infrastructure."
OMU hosted a public session to address ratepayers' questions about the rate increases on Thursday prior to the City Utility Commission's decision to recommend them to the city commission. Other than a reporter for the Messenger-Inquirer, no one was in attendance.
The city commission will hear OMU's proposal in first reading at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
