INC NEWS - FW: A Message from the President DCC re water rates

[Melissa Rooney]

FYI. I, for one, believe that businesses should be
coerced to preserve more water and thus support and
commend the city council's action in this regard. See
below.

Melissa

_________________________
 

From: Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce (President &
CEO.)
 
Dear Durham Chamber Member:  

On Monday, May 5, Durham City Council approved a rate
increase in water and water service charges for both
residential and non-residential users.  The new
residential rate (based on single-family homes with
one water meter) will be determined by a five-tier
rate structure with lower rates for lesser water
consumption and higher rates for more water
consumption. All non-residential users were approved
for a flat 26.8% increase in water rates and a 157%
increase in water service charges.  The
non-residential increase is equivalent to the rate
charged in tier three of the new residential rate
structure (click here to view the new water rate
structure).  

The original proposal before the Council had an
effective date of June 1, 2008. This date was driven
by the City’s desire to incent residential water users
to conserve water during the summer months. In
addition, the implementation date was determined by
the need to generate sufficient revenue to complete
capital improvements to the water system and ensure
our long term supply of water. 

The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce Board of
Directors reviewed the proposal when they became aware
of it two weeks ago. The Board supports the need to
invest in the long term supply of water for our
community and understands the need to generate the
revenue and secure the necessary funds to make that
investment. There is disappointment the City has not
proposed a tiered system for the business community
similar to the residential tiered system. However, the
Board’s primary concern is that the projected
implementation date of June 1, 2008 does not give
businesses adequate time to adjust their operating
budgets for the proposed increase. Therefore, we
requested that City Council delay the effective
implementation date to January 1, 2009.  

At the May 5 meeting, City Council agreed to delay the
implementation date to July 1, 2008, meaning the
increase will be reflected in your August water bill.
The 30-day delay does give us the opportunity to
provide you with information as to how this increase
will affect your business and give you some time to
prepare.  

To that end, the net affect of the action taken is
that your water rate will increase from $1.56 per 100
cubic feet to $1.98 per 100 cubic feet.  In addition,
your water service charge will increase to between
$10.82 and $1,448.87, depending upon the size of your
water meter.  

City Council strongly encouraged City of Durham staff
to use the delay of implementation to educate users on
the new systems and rates. The Chamber will work with
the City staff to assist in educating the business
community moving forward.  

In the near future, the City will have a rate
calculator on their home page that will assist you in
determining the net affect of the increase to your
bill. We encourage you to go online to
www.ci.durham.nc.us to view additional information.
Please let us know if you have specific questions or
topics that we should address in this regard.

  

Casey Steinbacher 
President & CEO
 



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