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Show Bountiful Proposes Water Rate Increase By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL A reduction in the minimum amount of culinary water to be used as a base rate for Bountiful consumers will be presented to the city council tonight. AT THE SAME time, an increase in the rate by residents using more than the minimum mini-mum 5,000 gallons per month will also be proposed. The rate for water usage in excess ex-cess of the minimum 5.000 gallons will be 60 cents per 1.000 gallons instead of the existing 55 cents per 1.000 gallons. This will become effective in the March billings for water used during February, according to City Manager Tom Hardy. For residents living above 5, 140 feet (about 1300 East) the increase for water used in excess of 5,000 gallons will jump from 57 to 65 cents per 1,000 gallons. HE EXPLAINED that residents living above 5,140 feet which includes most of the new subdivisions in the southeast section sec-tion of the city have been charged a higher rate because of extra pumping costs necessary to supply the area with water. The higher rate applies to about six to eight percent of all the city's water users, he said. Persons using less than 5,000 gallons which last year accounted for more than 1 5 percent of all residents the basic rate will remain at $4. HOWEVER, PERSONS using culinary water in excess of 5,000 gallons per month will pay the following rates instead of the basic $4 minimum rate: 5.000 to 6.000 gallons, gal-lons, $4.60; 6.000 to 7.000 gallons, $5.20; 7,000 to 8,000 gallons, $5.80; 8,000 to 9.000 gallons or more, $6.40. Mr. Hardy said that the proposed increases in-creases would amount to. an "across the board" average of about 12 percent, although the vast majority of water users will be paying a lesser percent increase. HE NOTED THAT the last water rate was in June 1978 and the proposed increase should be effective until at least June 1982. Based on a 12 percent increase, this would amount to only three percent per year for the past four years, the city manager emphasized. ALSO BASED ON last ear's water account records, the proposed increases would affect about 85 percent of the city's water users but only about 27 percent will pay the maximum rate by using more than 9.000 gallons. Mr. Hardy said the council will review the w ater rates again at the beginning of the fiscal y ear 1982-83. MEANWHILE, SALT Lake City water users just saw their water rates hiked nearly near-ly 15 percent after an II percent increase last year. The average water rate before the proposed hike goes into effect was $ 1 10 per family per year, the city manager explained. ex-plained. Mr. Hardy said the new Bountiful water rate proposal is necessary to bring the city's ci-ty's water department out of the red. He said the water department had a deficit of more than $44,000 last year. THE SEWER department had a gain of nearly $16,000 leaving a balance deficit of the combined water-sewer department of $28,392. Mr. Hardy says he is also going to propose prop-ose that the two departments water and sewer have separate funds. THE CITY-OWNED recreation facilities, facili-ties, including the two swim pools and ice skating rink, will show the biggest deficit this year, said Mr. Hardy. "The recreational facilities and programs prog-rams will have a deficit of more than $100,000, but I'm still studying the programs prog-rams to determine what recommendations to make. But something has got to be done, we can't continue subsidizing the recreation recrea-tion program to this extent." he said. MR. HARDY assumed the new city manager man-ager post only a month ago (Jan. 2) and indicated that his first and primary goal is to get the city on a sound fiscal and operational operation-al budget. H enoted that the sanitation department for the last six months of operation is-showing is-showing a deficit of $10,648 while the city-owned city-owned golf course had a profit of slightly more than $20.00(not counting the sale of a lot for $30,000); and the power and light department as always is operating in the black to the tune of slightly more than $500,000. |