Water, Sewer, Refuse Fees All May Rise May 1

Elmhurst's Finance Committee Monday took a first look at increases in water and sewer rates residents may pay in the next fiscal year. Next door, the Public Works and Building Committee considered increases in garbage collection fees.

Finance Director Marilyn Gaston said city staff was proposing an 8 percent increase in sewer rates and a 6 percent increase in water rates beginning May 1. These increases, she told the Finance Committee, would cost a four-person household $45 more per year for water and $53 more per year for sewer fees, for a total of $98 per year.

The increase was needed, she said, to offset cost increases from the DuPage Water Commission and to build up the water and sewer funds, which provide money for potentially costly emergency maintenance issues.

Committee members wondered if the recently approved $840,000 contract for  with Christopher Burke Engineering and RJN Group was a factor in the proposed increases. Gaston said no, but she added that any work proposed as a result of the tests the two companies will conduct throughout the city might impact future water-sewer fund budgets.

Chairman Steve Hipskind asked committee members to forward any questions they had about the water and sewer funds to city staff. Gaston said staff would also provide aldermen with information on rates in neighboring towns.

“This is our starting point,” said Hipskind. “These numbers have and will fluctuate.”

In the meeting room next door, the Public Works and Building Committee was considering ways to fund a 4.5 percent increase in the city's refuse collection contract with Allied Waste Services. The rate for services has to be reviewed on an annual basis, and the current five-year contract ends March 31, 2013.

According to Director of Public Works Mike Hughes, city staff are proposing an increase in fees for a 33-gallon can from $14.03 to $14.66 and for a 96-gallon toter from $20.76 to $21.69 per month. Refuse and yard waste stickers would stay at $2.25 each.

Alderman Mike Bram said the committee should look for more options when negotiating the next waste disposal contract, for example offering residents a garbage can size in-between the current offerings. He also asked if city staff could spread the costs between the stickers and the toters. Hughes said he would return in two weeks with more scenarios for the committee to consider.