News : Water/Sewer Rates set to Increase

The Vinton City Council has had to make some hard decisions over the last few months. Replacing the sewer plant has been at the top of the discussion as well as upgrades to the water treatment plant as well. "These 2 facilities are ones that no one thinks about until they don’t have water pressure or can’t flush the toilet. The new designs also are taking into account the safety of our employees in the day-to-day operations of the plant," said Mayor Bud Maynard.

The plant was replaced some 40 years ago under the leadership of a completely different city council and mayor. At the time of its construction City Administrator Chris Ward mentioned to the current council that they did some things that have helped the situation now. 

The plant was originally constructed while there were three manufacturing businesses in town. One was Iowa Ham who would need to consume much more water and use the sewer system more than anyone else in town. The size of the current sewer plant reflects that. Today, the three manufacturers are no longer in business in Vinton. However, the larger sewer plant has bought the community some time. Plants usually only last 20-25 years, so we on borrowed time with ours.

Another thing that the council did at the time was to set up a small fee each month of around $8 to be put toward the maintenance and repairs of the structure. That sounds like after 40 years there should be a ton of money available. Then you realize that a tiny piece of equipment for the larger than normal structure costs enough to wipe out a few years of those collections, and that's IF it's not a major repair. 

One of the statements that Ward has repeatedly said to the council is that our situation is "unheard of." And that's in a good way. He has been amazed by the fact that the City of Vinton has no debt sitting there from past water or sewer projects. Most cities are building while paying off past debt, but in Vinton, that is not the case.

The council 40 years ago, planned ahead. The councils who came after them didn't realize that the rates should continue to increase as expenses increased. One of the former council members had hoped that at this point there would be enough set aside to build the needed plant with money collected over the past four decades. 

The problem is that this project wasn't something the council members who came after had to deal with, it was "out of sight, out of mind."  Rates haven't increased in 40 years. Because of that, Vinton now finds itself in the difficult position of playing catch up. 

However, Vinton is in a good place. Remember how Ward was impressed that there is no debt? 

Small towns in Iowa are having to deal with infrastructures that can't function, and new regulations handed down from the governments above them at the state and federal level. While they oversee clean water and proper disposal, and we're all grateful that someone is keeping an eye on it, there isn't funding always available to follow the demands that the government entities hand down. Enter you and I the consumers. 

Because of the planning 40 years ago, we owe that council whoever they were a huge thank you for keeping us out of debt. Part of their job is not only to take care of the city in the present condition, but also to look to the future. 

Rates are set to increase, and the city council has winced every time the discussion has taken place. But it's not a case of having much of a choice. As they were told, every day they wait the more it's going to cost, simply because in this case, "time is money." Costs for everything continue to steadily rise. Delaying a decision to go ahead with the plan to begin building could cost another million or two. 

I think the readers will all know, that if I think something is wonky, especially in our local governments, I'll just say it. In this case, it's not. In this case, it's been good planning 40 years ago and then no planning for this since. Now this city council has to bite the bullet and be the ones to "take the blame" for increasing water and sewer rates, that should have been steadily increasing over the last four decades, but they didn't. 

In fact, the plant isn't even charging enough right now to, well, keep its head above water. Things like treating the water cost money, another unseen but necessary expense. Every time there is a fire in town, that water doesn't run through a meter but is donated to fight the fires. Someone has to pay to supply that water, and we happily do. It's another thing that we don't really think about but is necessary. But again it still costs money.

We will soon see an increase in just how much we really need to be paying. On the upside, new housing construction will add a few more people to share the load. I know, "welcome to town, help us pay for the new treatment plant." But, that's just the way it is.

I will also give the Vinton City Council credit for rehashing this topic over and over and trying to find another solution but in this scenario the only answer is to increase rates, and borrow money to cover expenses.

"This council has been faced with a lot of tough decisions over the past few years and to their credit refuse to kick the can down the road and make it someone else’s problem," said Maynard. We are in a "have to do something" scenario and they are. 

But it is a lesson for anyone who will serve on the council over the next 40 years. You hate having to raise rates, but for the residents who will live here in 2064, you have to.  

Normally, I don't attach the handouts from the council meetings. But in this case, I will attach the worksheets that the council was given in a Work Session that helps to shed some light on just water usage and where we land on covering that. 

You can watch the city council meetings and work sessions from the end of November through now to get a better feel for the decisions that the council has to make. 

City of Vinton YouTube