Fruitland Park commissioners will meet Monday night in a workshop to talk about proposed water rates for city residents.
The city recently had a utility rate study completed and received the results at its most recent commission meeting. The agency that conducted the study, GovRates Inc., has recommended increases for customers who have water and wastewater services and just water services provided by the city.
It’s unclear how any rates increases will affect customers who live The Villages portion of Fruitland Park, as the city is one several entities selling water to the Central Sumter Utility Company, which in turn provides it to residents in the Villages of Pine Hills and the Village of Pine Ridge. But it stands to reason that some type of adjustment could be passed on to the utility company, which currently buys water from the city at a cost of 82 cents per 1,000 gallons and delivers it to customers at a higher rate.
With the city not meeting its costs to provide water and wastewater services, the study recommends two sets of increases. Seventy-five percent of utility customers in the city only have water service, with single-family residential customers comprising 88 percent of the customer base. That means 25 percent of customers have both water and wastewater services, and the study recommends that the city attempt to expand the wastewater customer base to spreads out any increases and to boost revenues.
Historically, the average single family residential customer in the city uses about 6,000 gallons of water per month. Under the proposed increase, those customers would see their monthly bills go from $20.49 to $35.10. Under that scenario, the average cost per gallon is .6 cents, the study says.
Customers that received water and wastewater services from the city use an average of 4,000 gallons of water per month. Under the proposed rate plan, those customers would see their monthly bills go from $41.13 to $74.82, with the cost per gallon being 1.9 cents, the study shows.
But Fruitland Park commissioners caution that they are a long way from deciding how, when and even if to increase water and wastewater rates. And they won’t make any hard decisions on Monday night, as rules prevent them from voting on any proposals during workshops.
Mayor Chris Cheshire said the workshop provides commissioners a chance to go over the study in great detail to see if changes are needed.
“There are a lot of different aspects to consider and we need a workshop to figure what the best direction is for our city and citizens,” he said of the meeting which begins at 6 p.m. at the commission chambers in City Hall, located at 506 West Berckman St.
