The Village board will be holding a public hearing on August 29th at 7 pm at the Fire Station.

 

 This hearing will be about the increase of the water billing rate from $15.50 to $34.23 per 5000 gallons of water used.

 

The sewer billing rate will not change.

This comes in light of grant funding to improve and upgrade our water tower. This will allow the Village to construct a brand new water tower on the east side of town in the open grass by the Village workshop. The new water tower will double the capacity of the old tank and will be able to hold the recommended daily usage of the entire Village. 

In order to apply for the grant there are certain requirements that need to be met and increasing the water bill amount is one of them. The reasoning behind this is that the state deems that the Village is not adequate in charging the resident enough to maintain or even fix issues that may arise. The number set forth is the minimum amount the Village would need to charge in order to meet the requirements. Currently, The Village has one of the lowest water bills in the entire area. 

This year the grant funding is up to 1.5 million dollars. The typical amount is 550,000 and is expected to return to that in the following years. 

This decision will help to improve the overall town water capacity, water pressure, supply homes with adequate water and help to supply the fire hydrants if they are needed.

There is a worry that the added pressure could cause problems to the Village water lines, however, with proper engineering and construction our Engineer is confident that it will not cause any issues or damage. The Village will continue to improve and upgrade our water lines when funding and situations arise in the future. 

This is a large jump in cost for every resident. Keep in mind  that the average resident in the Village does not use 5000 gallons of water a month and you will continue to be billed and charged for what you use. 

If you are unable to attend the meeting and wish to have your voice heard please fill out a survey and drop it off at the village office before the scheduled hearing.