Higher Water and Sewer Rates in Biloxi
Biloxi residents could be getting higher utility bills this year. The city is looking to increase the rates for the first time since 2009. News 25’s Kendra Turley has the full report on exactly who these rates could affect.
After seven years of consistency, the city of Biloxi is looking to increase its water and sewer rates. Proposed rates in the city will jump 45 percent over the next five years under a plan proposed by Mayor Andrew ‘FoFo’ Gilich. Biloxi City Engineer Christy Lebatard said, “Basically what that’ll hit is mainly our commercial and high-end users. We try not to affect our residential users too much. We hope that this will help us generate some additional revenue.”
At the moment, the cost of providing water and sewer services for Biloxi residents is over $17 million. The city is hoping an increase in rates will cover that cost. City of Biloxi Public Affairs Manager Vincent Creel said, “Right now, we haven’t been doing that for a number of years. We’ve been subsidizing that. We think it’s fair to everybody if the water department starts covering its own cost.”
The rates for seniors and the 89 percent of customers who use less than 8,000 gallons of water a month will stay where they are through 2020. “That 8,000 gallons was already set up in the ordinance. That also was an easy number for us to use because it’s an easy comparison of where we are now to where we want be,” said Lebatard.
If approved by the council, water rates for those customers will increase 21 cents for each thousand gallons this year and another 12 cents, 13 cents, 14 cents and 15 cents over the following four years. “We haven’t raised water rates in Biloxi since 2009 and even with this increase for high-end users, they’re still going to be paying the lowest rates of anybody around us,” said Creel.
Less than 1,500 of Biloxi’s 14,000 customers will be impacted by these higher rates.
Sewer rates would increase by 43 cents for each thousand gallons this year and by an additional 25 cents, 26 cents, 29 cents and 30 cents over the next several years.
Council members will vote on these proposed rates next week.
After seven years of consistency, the city of Biloxi is looking to increase its water and sewer rates. Proposed rates in the city will jump 45 percent over the next five years under a plan proposed by Mayor Andrew ‘FoFo’ Gilich. Biloxi City Engineer Christy Lebatard said, “Basically what that’ll hit is mainly our commercial and high-end users. We try not to affect our residential users too much. We hope that this will help us generate some additional revenue.”
At the moment, the cost of providing water and sewer services for Biloxi residents is over $17 million. The city is hoping an increase in rates will cover that cost. City of Biloxi Public Affairs Manager Vincent Creel said, “Right now, we haven’t been doing that for a number of years. We’ve been subsidizing that. We think it’s fair to everybody if the water department starts covering its own cost.”
The rates for seniors and the 89 percent of customers who use less than 8,000 gallons of water a month will stay where they are through 2020. “That 8,000 gallons was already set up in the ordinance. That also was an easy number for us to use because it’s an easy comparison of where we are now to where we want be,” said Lebatard.
If approved by the council, water rates for those customers will increase 21 cents for each thousand gallons this year and another 12 cents, 13 cents, 14 cents and 15 cents over the following four years. “We haven’t raised water rates in Biloxi since 2009 and even with this increase for high-end users, they’re still going to be paying the lowest rates of anybody around us,” said Creel.
Less than 1,500 of Biloxi’s 14,000 customers will be impacted by these higher rates.
Sewer rates would increase by 43 cents for each thousand gallons this year and by an additional 25 cents, 26 cents, 29 cents and 30 cents over the next several years.
Council members will vote on these proposed rates next week.
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