Rates driven up 18%

by water projects
Council ordinance
will translate to $90
increase on average
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer

by water projects
Council ordinance
will translate to $90
increase on average
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer

The Spotswood Borough Council has introduced an ordinance that would raise residents’ water bills by about 18 percent.

The council said the increase is needed to pay for the costs of improvements being made to its troubled water system. Work is being completed to resolve problems with water discoloration, which has plagued parts of the borough for years.

Council President Judith Ruffo said the increase means that most residents in single-family homes will be paying about $90 more per year for their water bills. After the ordinance was introduced Monday night, Mayor Barry Zagnit said that the figure reflected the cost for a single-family home that uses the average amount of water, about 20,000 gallons.

Beginning Sept. 1, the general rates will be as follows: for the first 20,000 gallons used each billing period, each 1,000 gallons will cost $3.13; for every 1,000 gallons used in excess of 20,000 gallons each period, the rate will be $3.48; when the water usage exceeds 30,000 gallons, every 1,000 gallons used in excess of 30,000 gallons will cost $3.66.

The minimum charge for a water service connection will be $31.30 per quarter.

Bills are sent out at the end of each month, and are due within 33 days of the billing date. If they are not paid on time, the borough will turn off the water supply, and will not turn it back on until the bill is paid with interest. According to the ordinance, interest will be 8 percent if the bill is $1,500 or less, and 18 percent if it is over $1,500. There will also be a $43.50 charge for turning the water back on.

Zagnit said the borough first projected that rates would increase by only 11 percent.

"We had to go up to 18 percent when we ran into the George Street and Daniel Road water plant problems," he said.

"We project that this (increase) will hold us for awhile," he said, adding that the borough is hoping not to have to raise rates again for at least two years.

Even with the increase, Spotswood rates are average in comparison to other municipalities, he said. Officials estimated that borough residents who used 20,000 gallons per quarter were paying $246 annually prior to the increase.

He attributed the increase to the multi-million dollar improvements the borough is making in many aspects of its water system.

Just this year, the borough will spend $3.1 million for those improvements, he said. Of that, about $2 million will be to clean and re-line the pipes, and $1.1 million to upgrade the two municipal water plants.

The borough recently had to shut down a water plant to perform immediate repairs, but the plant is now back in operation.

"The emergency work is done," he said. "They’re doing the cleaning and re-lining as we speak."

Two sections of town are being worked on presently, he said.

In addition, non-emergency work will be done at the plants and the municipal water tank will be improved.

Zagnit said he had hoped the work would be finished by the end of the year, but it now seems it will stretch into the spring.

"The tank can’t be done in the cold (weather), so we may have to wait until the spring," he said.

The tower needs to be cleaned and repainted, and a certain temperature is needed for the paint to cure properly and bond to the metal, he said.

The borough cannot do the work now because that would mean taking the tank out of operation during a period of high water usage.

"When it’s real warm, people are using more water," he said.