Etna Green Council Approves Sewer Rate Study
November 16, 2022 at 3:20 a.m.
By Jackie [email protected]
Clerk-Treasurer Patti Cook said Amber Nielson from Baker Tilly was supposed to be at Tuesday’s Council meeting, but couldn’t make it.
Cook said when Baker Tilly looked at the sewer’s financials Dec. 31, 2021, Baker Tilly saw a decrease of cash flows of about $47,000 for the year. As of Sept. 30, 2022, the utility was $41,000 low.
Cook said the water utility is fine to operate as it is.
However, the sewer utility saw a hit because Winona Powder Coating Inc. has installed its own waste water facility.
Nielson wanted to know if the Council wanted to do a rate study. Cook said if they do the study right away, the town won’t have to raise the rate as much as if they waited. Cook said the town has not had to raise the sewer rates since 2010. Cook could not immediately say after the meeting what the current sewer rate was.
Councilman Jason Hanes said it’s a major concern for him. He said the prices “were outrageous” as they are. The prices are already expensive and that’s what worries him most.
Council President Keith Claassen said the town has had the good fortune of having Winona Powder Coating Inc. paying into the sewer system and that’s what the rates were based on. The company switching over has made a big change and he said he thinks the town needs to have a study done.
Cook said the longer the town waits to get the study done, the bigger the increase is going to be.
“I can see the storm coming, I don’t like to think about it, but ...,” Hanes said.
Claassen said the Council needs to know where the town is going with its sewer system.
“Running the waste treatment system, we have to have it and it’s not going to get any cheaper to do it. And it’s just going to be more expensive,” Claassen said. It’s the town’s business to run the utilities properly and doing a rate study is something that needs to be done.
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Clerk-Treasurer Patti Cook said Amber Nielson from Baker Tilly was supposed to be at Tuesday’s Council meeting, but couldn’t make it.
Cook said when Baker Tilly looked at the sewer’s financials Dec. 31, 2021, Baker Tilly saw a decrease of cash flows of about $47,000 for the year. As of Sept. 30, 2022, the utility was $41,000 low.
Cook said the water utility is fine to operate as it is.
However, the sewer utility saw a hit because Winona Powder Coating Inc. has installed its own waste water facility.
Nielson wanted to know if the Council wanted to do a rate study. Cook said if they do the study right away, the town won’t have to raise the rate as much as if they waited. Cook said the town has not had to raise the sewer rates since 2010. Cook could not immediately say after the meeting what the current sewer rate was.
Councilman Jason Hanes said it’s a major concern for him. He said the prices “were outrageous” as they are. The prices are already expensive and that’s what worries him most.
Council President Keith Claassen said the town has had the good fortune of having Winona Powder Coating Inc. paying into the sewer system and that’s what the rates were based on. The company switching over has made a big change and he said he thinks the town needs to have a study done.
Cook said the longer the town waits to get the study done, the bigger the increase is going to be.
“I can see the storm coming, I don’t like to think about it, but ...,” Hanes said.
Claassen said the Council needs to know where the town is going with its sewer system.
“Running the waste treatment system, we have to have it and it’s not going to get any cheaper to do it. And it’s just going to be more expensive,” Claassen said. It’s the town’s business to run the utilities properly and doing a rate study is something that needs to be done.
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