Marshfield May Become the First City to Raise Water Rates to Replace Aging Pipes
Thursday, June 30th, 2016 -- 9:26 AM
(WDLB) -Marshfield could become the first city in Wisconsin to use higher water rates to create a greater rate of return, for the sole purpose of replacing aging water pipes.According to WDLB, the Marshfield Common Council voted last night to give the city-owned Marshfield Utilities and Manager Bob Trussoni permission to ask the state Public Service Commission to raise municipal water rates by an average of three-dollars per month per customer, so it can keep the added revenue for water main replacement.
"Instead of the five and a quarter percent that we typically would have, we want to raise it up to 7.5 percent. And what that would do is generate about an extra half a million dollars a year for the water utility. And that would be used in addition to the funds we're already generating at the five and a quarter. This is something new. The PSC has never done this before and there's no guarantee that they're going to do it now. But they've been open to the idea."
Marshfield Utilities Financial Manager Kent Mueller said a slightly-higher water rate now would save the city millions of dollars in the long run, by not having to borrow one-million dollars every two years to address what currently amounts to a 75-year plan for replacing the city's water mains. Utility Commission President Mike Eberl told the Council that his members were eager to go along with the higher rate of return.
"Staff has come up with a really cutting edge solution to the point that PSC has not approved this in the State of Wisconsin yet. We're asking for something unusual. It makes incredible sense to incur a little bit extra cost today to save a lot of money over the long term."
Alderman Chris Jockheck noted that drinking water was listed as a concern by 19-percent of respondents to a recent citywide survey.
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