Fairfield proposing rate increases: How much it would cost

The city of Fairfield is proposing increases in its water and sewer rates, which are among the lowest in the region, according to a 2020 Oakwood public utility rate survey. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/FILE

The city of Fairfield is proposing increases in its water and sewer rates, which are among the lowest in the region, according to a 2020 Oakwood public utility rate survey. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/FILE
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Sept 21, 2020
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FAIRFIELD — City Council will consider new water and sewer rate increases over the next five years.

Public Utilities Director Adam Sackenheim is proposing, based on a several-month rate and fee study conducted by Stantec, annual water rate increases of 3.5 percent from 2021 to 2025. He’s also proposing the council agree to raise the sewer rates by 1.5 percent in 2021 to 2024 and then 3 percent in 2025.

He said the study helped the staff ensure it wouldn’t recommend rates that were unsustainable.

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“We don’t want to have rates that are too high now then followed by five years of zero percent rate increases or rates that are too low followed by major increases in year 2026,” Sackenheim said.

This year marks the end of a recent series of scheduled water and sewer rate increases.

The city of Fairfield is proposing increases in its water and sewer rates, which are among the lowest in the region, according to a 2020 Oakwood public utility rate survey. MICHAEL D. PITMAN/FILE

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In the annual Oakwood water and sewer rate survey, Fairfield historically has been at the economical end of the list. The last increases resulted in the city falling from sixth to 12th in the study, which Sackenheim said still makes the city competitive among the 63 jurisdictions in the Oakwood survey.

A city water and sewer customer will pay $234.61 for water and sewer based on 22,500 gallons of water over a three-month period. The survey’s average combined rate is just under $300 over a three-month period.

“At number 12 out of 63 utilities reporting, we remain very attractive to businesses and developers and folks that might consider southwest Ohio and Butler County for redevelopment projects,” Sackenheim said.

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The rate increases will help pay for infrastructure projects in the future, including a water line replacement at Resor and Winton roads, two water tower rehabilitation projects, and upgrades to the water and sewer plants, which includes a new multipurpose building to include water sewage sludge treatment, chemical treatment and an improve aeration system.

Fairfield is planning to take on new water and sewer debt in addition to the rate increases, but city Finance Director Scott Timmer said the Public Utilities Department currently has low debt obligations.

The water division has $4.1 million in outstanding debt, but historically the division’s debt range is $6 million to $10 million. The wastewater division has $1.2 million in debt, but Timmer said there’s a “capacity to incur” additional sewer debt. A decade ago, the city had around $8.5 million in wastewater division debt.

Taking on the new debt will not overburden the city, Timmer said, because they have established “debt payment structures."

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Michael D. Pitman has been a reporter in southwest Ohio since 1999. He's covered local governments in Warren and Butler counties, as well as state and national issues. He currently covers the cities of Fairfield and Hamilton.