Ellsworth water rate increase to get hearing

ELLSWORTH — Users of the Ellsworth Water System will be paying more for their water this summer as planned increases in the water rates become effective.

The city plans to file a revised rate schedule with the Public Utilities Commission soon and has scheduled a public hearing at 8 p.m. Monday, May 21, at City Hall.

City Manager Herbert Gilsdorf said the rate increase was necessary in order to pay for the new city water system now under construction. The total cost of the system, which includes new lines, a new treatment plant and standpipe, will be about $3 million, he said.

The residential rates will almost double. They will increase initially to about 60 percent — from $27 per quarter to $42 per quarter — on July 1. Those rates will increase eventually to $52 over a three-year period.

Gilsdorf said the city itself was the largest water customer and that its costs for the fire hydrant system would increase from about $100,000 to $228,000.

He said that the water users had not had an increase in the five years that the city has owned the water system.

“If the system had remained private, there would have been regular water rate increases,” he said, “and you would still have the same old system.” While the city does not need PUC approval for the rate increase, Gilsdorf said if enough residents requested the commission to look into the rate increase, the PUC would do so.

“That would cause months and months of delay,” he said, “and the bills still will have to be paid.”

If the Council, after the public hearing, approves the new rates, they will go into effect, he said. If there is a delay, the bills would have to be paid by all of the city’s taxpayers.

There are a lot of people in the city who would like to see that happen, Gilsdorf said. But, he added, there were also taxpayers, like himself, who had wells and who were not anxious to have to pay for the water users to have a new system.

“Either way, those bills will be paid,” he said. “It will be by the 1,200 users of the water system or it’ll fall on the heads of the rest of the taxpayers.”

There has been some criticism of the decision to build the new water system, criticism that Gilsdorf says has been based on lack of knowledge about water systems and state regulations.

“There’s an awful lot of ignorance that revolves around this issue,” he said. “Many people are just not knowledgable about the technology and the current water standards.”

Gilsdorf said this was a good time for the city to be building the new water system, rather than trying to update the existing treatment plant to meet current state regulations.

“This way we can design the system to meet the very newest standards that the state imposed in 1989,” he said.

The proposed rate schedule is available for viewing at City Hall or by contacting the PUC at 289-3831, or by writing to State House Station 18, Augusta 04333. The Legislature also has authorized the Public Advocate to assist in representing consumer concerns in rate matters. Residents can contact that office by calling 289-2445 or by writing to State House Station 112, Augusta 04333.