Ann Arbor water and sewer rates ticking up about 3.6% starting July 1
Water and sewer bills are going up July 1.
The Ann Arbor City Council gave final approval Monday night to new utility rates that provide revenue increases of 3.55 percent in water, 4.25 percent in sewer and 4 percent in stormwater.
The impact on the average single-family customer is estimated at $20.66 per year, a net increase of 3.6 percent if consumption is unchanged from last year.
That's expected to increase revenues in the water, sewer and stormwater funds by $739,244, $955,531 and $233,811, respectively.
According to information from the city, the 3.6 percent increase in Ann Arbor compares to increases of 5 percent in Warren and 4 percent in Ypsilanti, and a decrease of 2.3 percent in Grand Rapids.
However, Jeff Castro, director of the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority, said YCUA has not yet established its rates for this year and the 4 percent figure Ann Arbor used actually was from 2012.
Ann Arbor's water and sewer rates have gone up in the 3 to 4 percent range each of the last several years. The rate increases are helping to fund millions of dollars in capital improvements.
The city of Ann Arbor released the following charts showing the impact of the latest rate changes for a typical residential customer.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
The Picker
Wed, Jun 5, 2013 : 1:06 p.m.
And they say there is no inflation.
treetowncartel
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 5:25 p.m.
Stop using your disposals people and put that stuff in your trash. They don't charge you for how heavy your trash is, but you pay DTE and the City when you run that disposal.
Will
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 5:16 p.m.
If it looks like a tax, and smells like a tax, it's a tax. . . . it's a great line that council puts out . ."the money is needed for the infrastructure", while skimming off money for their own personal projects (see art piece in front of city hall). Wouldn't it be refreshing if council were to be truthful and say we're taxing you an additional 4% this year, of which SOME of that money will go toward water, sewage, and storm water! . . . right . . .wait on it!
grye
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 5:03 p.m.
Is storm water treated or only allowed to run into the local streams and rivers? Seems odd that we would be charged for what Mother Nature provides and be assessed by how much we use. I would like to see the option of a second meter for outside water use that will only be soaked into the ground and not treated. Paying to treat water that will never be treated is downright wrong.
Bob Zuruncol
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 5:19 p.m.
Where I live the storm water runs into a storm sewer. I wonder if these occur naturally, or perhaps they have to be installed, maintained, repaired and replaced. Probably not.
Major
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 2:53 p.m.
Charging for storm water, what a total rip off!
Goober
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 3:51 p.m.
Yup. My guess, they will find a way to charge for air and sunshine. No end to increases such as these. Our mayor and city council at their finest - raising rates and taxes. If they put the same effort into managing these costs lower, as they do in planning for a new rail station or finding art to buy, the rates might actually go lower for a change.
Ryan J. Stanton
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 1:39 p.m.
For anyone in Ypsi caught off guard by the 4% rate increase figure for Ypsi, please see the sentence I just added to the story. Jeff Castro, director of the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority, called me to say YCUA has not yet established its rates for this year and the 4 percent figure Ann Arbor used, even though it was labeled an "anticipated increase," actually was from 2012.
JRW
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 1:19 p.m.
The City Council voted DOWN returning the unspent Art Tax dollars to their original funds while voting to increase water and sewage rates at the same meeting. This is intolerable. Remember these individuals at the next "election" on Aug 6. BTW, all elections should be held in November. Wouldn't it save money to eliminate these other bogus elections during the year?
Dog Guy
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 1:03 p.m.
"Ann Arbor water and sewer rates ticking up" . . . just as regular as clockwork. And despite pretending that Water Utilities income is in its own sacred bucket, City Council uses it as a Slosh Fund.
brimble
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 11:57 a.m.
It is unfortunate that only fresh-water consumption is measured, and what returns to the sewer and stormwater systems is not based on anything other than a hypothetical. Have a rain garden? Thanks, but pay just as your neighbor who pushes runoff directly to the drain. Better that the rates are expressed entirely as a cost of consumption, with recovery folded into that measure.
Brad
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 1:03 p.m.
Nope, credits are available. http://bit.ly/11UP5L1
Goober
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 11 a.m.
I wonder how I can better manage storm water discharge? Go figure!
Brad
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 1:02 p.m.
Silly me. Thinking that in 2013 I can just paste a link into an online publication and have it show up properly. http://bit.ly/11UP5L1
Brad
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 1:01 p.m.
Your sewer is based upon water consumption, but storm water is determined by your "imperviousness". You can get some small credits for that with rain barrels, rain gardens, etc. http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/systems_planning/waterresources/Stormwater/Pages/ResidentialRatesCredits.aspx (I only know this because I looked at it last week)
DJBudSonic
Tue, Jun 4, 2013 : 11:37 a.m.
You cannot, storm water discharge is calculated solely on water consumption. This is revenue production for the city, yet another hidden tax to add to our already too high taxes.