PARIS — The Paris Utility District will hold a public hearing next week to discuss a hike in the price of water for more than 900 residents.
The hearing is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, at the Paris Fire Department on Western Avenue.
Under a plan reviewed by state regulators at the Public Utilities Commission, the district is projecting water rates for most users to go up by about 14 percent, or about $6 per 1,200 cubic feet of water, according to district plant manager Steve Arnold. The rates will become effective April 1.
It will affect anyone with public water, from apartments and single homes tied into the system to the Fire Department. Sewer fees will not increase.
According to Arnold, the increase is driven by steady increases in the cost of operations, including electricity, as well as the cost of materials and administration.
“Economically, times have been tough for everybody. In order to keep functional, we have to go up,” Arnold said.
The hike is the first since 2006, when the Clark Hill Reservoir was established, he said. Since then, the PUD has “absorbed” rate increases, though the budget reached a point where the expenses have to be passed on to ratepayers.
Some of the funding will be used to swap out between 300 and 400 water meters, which will be upgraded at a price of $150 each. Residents will not be asked to pay an additional fee.
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