Ford City Special Meeting Addressing Water Rates
Ford City Borough Council will meet again this Saturday to consider a new ordinance raising water rates.
by Jonathan Weaver
Ford City Borough Council members will conduct a special meeting this Saturday morning concerning water rates next year.
At 8:30AM at the Borough offices – located at the corner of 4th Avenue and 10th Street -, council members – including newly-appointed 2nd Ward Representative Beth Bowser – will consider increasing water rates in 2016.
Borough Manager Eden Ratliff confirmed the meeting date and time last night after finding out it could be properly advertised.
“Council will consider an ordinance. If it passes, it will raise the water rates by $1, effective November 15, 2016,” Ratliff said.
Ratliff said the water rate increase was a contingency of accepting the nearly-$3.1 million PENNVEST (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority) loan offered in April to build the new water treatment plant.
“The way the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sees it, they have done an analysis of our debt, a total analysis of our plan, income received from the plan and all the other obligations the Borough has, and they think in order to pay back the PENNVEST loan, Council would need to raise water rates by $1 per month,” Ratliff said.
In April, Ratliff calculated that with 1,200 residential customers, the one-percent interest due would equal about $12 per year in interest for the next 20 years.
Water bills are currently dispersed at the beginning of each month and bills are due no later than the 15th of that particular month. Borough water customers receive a 3,000-gallon water allotment each month.
Ratliff expected a quorum of Council members to be at the meeting Saturday morning due to discussions at Monday’s work session.
All local residents are able to review the ordinance at the Borough offices through the remainder of the week and speak on the proposed ordinance before motions are made Saturday morning.
