1 year, 1 month ago by Scott Hardy
Utilities Committee recommends measure, sends it to City Council
The City of Quincy's Utilities Committee has voted to send to the full City Council a request to add a $9 a month surcharge on residential water bills, to cover a possible $3 million shortfall in the up-coming fiscal year.
The Committee, meeting Thursday afternoon, made the recommendation after hearing from Utilities and Engineering Department Director Jeff Conte. He told the committee that inflation has caused a big increase in operating costs for both the Water and Sewer Departments. The main bulk of the cost increases have been in energy expenses, operating supplies like chemicals, and contracted services like sludge disposal. The plan for the surcharge is to pro-rated, based on the size of the water meter used. Conte told the committee that even with the increase, water and sewer rates in Quincy are still less than other cities in Illinois, as well as Hannibal and Keokuk.
If the current proposal is approved by the City Council, the surcharge would go into effect starting November 1st.
