HOWELL – Members of the Howell Township Council voiced opposition to an increase in water rates that has been proposed by New Jersey American Water.
New Jersey American Water has filed a petition seeking to increase rates for water and waste water services, and to change its depreciation rates and to implement other tariff revisions, according to a notice from the company.
Council members voiced their opposition to the rate increase at the Jan. 2 reorganization meeting. Mayor Theresa Berger, Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro, Councilwoman Pauline Smith, Councilman Robert Walsh and Councilwoman Evelyn O’Donnell voted to pass the resolution.
According to the resolution, the increase could be 17.54 percent which would increase the water company’s revenue by $129 million.
The resolution states that the increase would add to the overall financial burden of water consumers and would have a negative financial impact on Howell residents who are serviced by New Jersey American Water.
Officials said, “In this period of economic uncertainty and hardship,” the request is particularly ill-timed and the company has been granted several rate increases over the past few years to the detriment of Howell residents.
Resident Barbara Dixel said New Jersey American Water “is owned by their stockholders, so why do they have to keep hitting all of us every two years or so with another increase? Let their investors pay for it.”
The notice from the company states that the actual percentage increase to specific customers will vary according to the applicable rate schedule and level of a customer’s usage.
“You know they are asking for 17.5 percent and hoping to get (a) 6 or 7 percent (increase),” Walsh said. “We hear about everybody else’s pensions in trouble, we hear about Social Security in trouble, we hear about Medicaid in trouble, (but) we do not hear anything about utilities being in trouble with pensions or medical benefits or anything like that because they just walk in and take more money from the taxpayers.”
In addition to rate changes, New Jersey American Water is proposing other changes and additions to its tariff, some of which would apply to all customers and others that would apply to only specified customers. These changes include, but are not limited to, changes to various rate schedules, according to the notice.
A public hearing on the proposed increase was scheduled to be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 10 in the Howell municipal building, 4567 Route 9 North, Howell.