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Rate hike inches forward

Utility bill increases progress as FD City Council OKs second reading

Water and sanitary sewer bill increases inched closer to reality Monday night on a pair of 5-1 votes by the Fort Dodge City Council.

The proposed increases in the water bills come in two parts. The first is a 2 percent increase to be enacted on Jan.1, 2018, and again on Jan. 1, 2019. Those rate hikes are intended to cover the inflationary cost increases of running the water system.

The second part of the proposed water bill increase is a $3.50 per month charge to pay for installing a reverse osmosis system in the John W. Pray Water Facility on Phinney Park Drive.

The reverse osmosis system will reduce the hardness of the water, but it will not create true soft water. It’s needed to help reduce the amount of chloride in the treated wastewater discharged into the Des Moines River to meet a new requirement from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Engineers say there is no cost-effective way to reduce the amount of chloride at the wastewater treatment plant. Since most of the chloride has been traced to salt used in water softeners, the installation of the reverse osmosis system will enable residents and businesses to use less salt.

The first $3.50 per month increase is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2018. The second $3.50 per month increase is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2019.

If the increases win final approval, a homeowner who’s now billed $27.93 per month for using 6,000 gallons of water will see their monthly bill rise by $4.06 per month to $31.99 on Jan. 1, 2018.

No residents spoke out against the increase on Monday, and there was no debate among council members.

Councilmen Kim Alstott, Neven Conrad, Dave Flattery, Andy Fritz and Terry Moehnke voted in favor of the increases. Councilman Dean Hill voted against them. Councilman Jeffrey Halter was absent.

One more affirmative vote of the council is required for the increases to go into effect.

A pair of 2 percent increases in sanitary sewer rates were also advanced Monday. The first of those increases would go into effect Jan. 1, 2018; the second would go into effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Alstott, Conrad, Flattery, Fritz and Moehnke voted yes. Hill voted no. Halter was absent.

One more affirmative vote of the council is needed to make those increases final.

In a related matter, the council voted to accept a $1.2 million no-interest loan from the state government to pay for water system improvements. Alstott said the money will pay for the engineering needed for the reverse osmosis system.

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