Water, sewer and garbage collection rates increase
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RATES AT A GLANCE
The monthly garbage collection fee increases $2.50 Thursday to $16.25.
The base water rate for most residential customers will increase 40 cents a month beginning Thursday to $17.49 a month.
The base sewer rate for ...
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RATES AT A GLANCE
The monthly garbage collection fee increases $2.50 Thursday to $16.25.
The base water rate for most residential customers will increase 40 cents a month beginning Thursday to $17.49 a month.
The base sewer rate for most residential customers will increase 44 cents a month on April 1 to $21.85.
Victoria residents will have to dig deeper into their wallets beginning Thursday to pay those monthly utility bills from the city.
And it's a prospect at least one customer said he doesn't like.
"I'll tell you that I, for one, am not too happy with the way things are," said Marvin Lockhart, a Northcrest resident. "But I guess they are the way they are."
Rates have increased each year, yet the service hasn't, he said.
City officials said the increases are necessary to help cover the cost of delivering safe drinking water, for the removal of solid waste and to handle sewage.
The monthly garbage collection fee increases $2.50 Thursday to $16.25.
Jerry James, director of Environmental Services, said the increase will help the city break even on the cost of collecting garbage, operating the Huvar Street Recycling Center, and collecting brush and heavy items.
It will also allow the city to put aside $130,000 to cover the cost of closing cells as they fill up at the landfill.
The Pine Street Recycling Center closes Thursday, resulting in a savings of about $230,000 a year. The collection of such yard waste as grass clippings and hedge trimmings ends Jan. 1, saving another $230,000 a year.
The base water rate for most residential customers will increase 40 cents a month beginning Thursday. It will go from $17.09 to $17.49 for the first 2,000 gallons of water.
The base sewer rate for most residential customers will increase 44 cents a month on April 1. It will go from $21.41 to $21.85 for the first 2,000 gallons.
The higher water and sewer rates will help pay for replacing utilities downtown and those under Sam Houston Drive, which will be rebuilt from Laurent Street at least to Airline Road.
"Maybe the bids will come in low enough for us to do even more of it," said Lynn Short, the city's public works director. That work is tentatively slated to begin in late 2010.
The road will be rebuilt and paved in concrete. The sidewalks, street lights, traffic lights, curb and gutter, and city utility lines will also be replaced.
Short said he couldn't say for sure if there will be more water and sewer rate increases in the next few years.
"I know in a couple of years we're going to need to build a sewer plant," he said. "Obviously, we'll need to issue debt to pay for that and there will be rate increases to pay for that."
It will cost nearly $20 million to design and build the plant.
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Comments
It is Ok to suspect corruption if you are informed about the facts surrounding the accepted bids. Please investigate and let us all hear your findings. As for recessions and depressions, I read that we are close to the end of our economic downturn, at least according to our Federal Reserve members. Lastly, have you ever heard of inflation?
October 1, 2009 at 9:54 p.m.nonya, Brannan has been ruining Victorias streets for decades......I have always wondered why, considering the product they put out (fails after a year or 2 sometimes less)....I always wondered who's getting paid off.
October 1, 2009 at 9 p.m.I dislike it totally! The flies are horrible - the trash gets picked up once a week! It's not working at all!!! Get something done about it City of Victoria!
October 1, 2009 at 2:40 p.m.Just a bunch of crooks getting paid off tax dollars.
October 1, 2009 at 10:08 a.m.Brilliant quote, Marvin: "I'll tell you that I, for one, am not too happy with the way things are, but I guess they are the way they are."
This "oh well" attitude sums up the gumption of the average Victorian.
October 1, 2009 at 9:21 a.m.The city is nothing more than a bunch of stinking liars.they said that automated pick-up would save us money,bulls_it,all they ever want is more money. They should eliminate some of the administrative jobs, we have a city engineer who can't figure the amount needed for right of ways,...we have to hire someone to come in and figure that out for us, fire him we don't need him, then theres Brannan Construction who does some of our streets, who's he in bed with at the city..they do a road and two years later we hire him to do it again cause he didn't do it right the first time....I'm sick and tired of all this corruption in this city, but no one stops to smell the stinkin roses.too busy paying for increases!
October 1, 2009 at 7:57 a.m.This town needs to clean out the people currently working in city government. No, they have their heads where they can't hear about a recession. City council needs an overdue scouring.
October 1, 2009 at 7:43 a.m.City officials said the increases are necessary to help cover the cost of delivering safe drinking water, for the removal of solid waste and to handle sewage.
September 30, 2009 at 11:41 p.m.Has anyone done an individual test on Victoria municipal water supply? It is suppose to be under 300 ppm. That's parts per million, dissolved solids. If the prices go up, is the quality going down? Do you trust your "drinking water"?
Yet they promised that the consumers would save money with the once a week trash pick up and now they want more money. If we are going to be charged more money take the trash pickup back to the way it was 2x a week without the stinking garbage can
September 30, 2009 at 10:30 p.m.