Water, sewer rates will double in Ventura

The City of Ventura will be increasing its water/sewer rates and moving to a monthly billing cycle in January 2017.

The Ventura City Council approved the third and final reading of an ordinance setting new rates at its Monday, Oct. 24, meeting.  Under the new fee structure the cost of the service will almost double for customers and billing will occur monthly, rather than every two months.

Council members concluded the rate change is necessary to afford necessary repairs and upgrades to its system.

According to City Clerk Else Taylor, Ventura’s water system was installed in 1978 and until recently, has experienced very few system control or main failures.  However, recent unanticipated main break repairs, such as a $60,000 ticket to fix a break under Highway 18 a few years ago, and another break last year, quickly depleted what had taken more than 15-years to save in the fund, said Taylor.

Big ticket maintenance items and pending well monitoring control system upgrades have necessitated the need to increase the rates, according to Council members.

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A  2016 Iowa League of Cities rate study also concluded that a rate change is necessary.

“Water system revenues must exceed water system expenditures to ensure the financial viability of the system.  According to City records, the water rates have not been raised since 2010 and the City’s water fund has a negative balance,” stated a report issued to the City in August 2016 by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

In 2010 the City Council approved setting the City’s water rate at $22.50 bi-monthly for the first 6,000 gallons and $3.75 per additional 1,000 gallons.  Typical monthly bills for two months of service were about $54, according to Taylor.

Under the new fee structure, a typical minimum monthly bill for up to 5,000 gallons will be $54.75 (water $25, sewer $17.50, garbage $10.50, tax $1.75).  That fee will be billed monthly.

Currently Ventura, with a census population of 717, has a fee of $18.75 for up to 5,000 gallons and $37.50 for 10,000 gallons.  The minimum charge is $11.25.

According to the League of Iowa Municipalities the new rate is much more in line with the fees charges by other North Iowa communities of similar size. For example, residents of Greene, with a population of 1,130 charges $32 for up to 5,000 gallons and $47 for 10,000 gallons; Sheffield, population 1,172, charges $20.84/5,000 and $32.24/10,000; the cost in Britt, population 2,069, is $28.07/5,000 and $33.51/10,000.

“At this point in time, the utility needs to prepare for what is going to take place over the next five years and beyond,” said Taylor.  “We need to update and maintain.”

City Council member Brian Vaage cast the lone dissenting vote against the ordinance which will change the water/sewer rate and billing frequency.

“I just felt that with the seniors in our community and those with iced incomes that the hike was too much,” said Vaage.  “I would rather not see such a big jump.”

Elected officials have been presented with the idea of an incremental increase for more than 15-years, according to Taylor.  However, the idea was never pursued or promoted by those in office.

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