Utility Rates To Increase for Brighton Residents

Brighton residents’ next utilities bill might look a little different as increases in water, sewer and garbage collection rates will take effect Friday with the new fiscal year.

Residents were alerted in a May 31 memo that fees for garbage pickup would rise from $1.91 to $13.64 per month. The rate for water increased from $2.15 to $2.71 per 1,000 gallons used. While the charge for sewer use dropped from $3.48 to $3.38 per 1,000 gallons, the other associated fees for the sewer system jumped from $25.53 to $25.92 a month, which include administration and debt service fees.

Mayor Pro Tem Jim Bohn said the garbage collection fee was increased to the full cost it takes the city to collect garbage, up from the partial fee put in last year.

“To offset the loss of tax revenue, this refuse user fee is what we would consider replacement revenue, and is used to specifically pay the bills for the garbage collection,” he said. An estimated $380,000 will be made from garbage collection fees.

As for the water and sewer rates, the utilities budget decreased $85,515 and the utilities’ revenues will jump $241,796 from the rate hikes.

However, the rate increases will shore up a fund that pays for any emergency fixes, which is known as working capital. The working capital is proposed to increase from $256,798 to $526,435 as a result.

“The rates cover the expenditures of the utilities fund,” Finance Director Kelly Lalonde said. “That’s part of the rate calculation as well, is making sure we have working capital, so that means if something breaks, we have funds to pay for those emergencies.”

$13.64/month

While Bohn said public attendance was sparse for the city’s budget information hearings in April, some residents still have an opinion on the matter. Resident Sue Walters-Steinacker disagreed with the city’s justifications for the new rates.

“Money is there, the money needs to be allocated better,” she said.

She also disagreed with the city not allowing residents to opt out of garbage pickup, which Bohn and Lalonde said is not included in the city’s ordinance dealing with garbage. Walters-Steinacker argues that if it isn’t prohibited in the ordinance, it should be presumed legal.

“We’re being held hostage by the city,” resident Patricia Cole said. “The administrative fee is a fixed fee. The garbage rate is a fixed fee. The debt service charge is a fixed fee. So, we can’t try to lower our utility bill by how much water we use, and that rate has gone up as well.”

Bohn said the fees and rates would be reviewed annually, but he estimated they will be in place for at least a few years. He said if the fees weren’t put into place, they wouldn’t have been able to balance the budget.

“Had it not been for the refuse user fee, basically there would’ve been probably employee layoffs; there would be nothing left on the table,” he said. “When we lay off employees, city services are either going to be reduced or eliminated.”