The St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) will be taking to public hearing a proposal to raise water and sewer service rates beginning in July. St. Mary’s County water and sewer authority is presenting a proposed budget that shows a 4.14 percent increase in non-metered sewer rates and 3.31 percent increase in metered water rates. The public hearing will be Monday, May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Larry K. Petty Building on Commerce Avenue in Hollywood.
MetCom Executive Director Jacquelyn Meiser told the commission at its meeting on Thursday that the intent was to spread needed revenue enhancements over several years in small amounts versus proposing a larger increase this year. That means customers can expect rate increases over the next several years.
The monthly increases for residential customers work out to be $1.21 a month for sewer and 60 cents per month for water. Average residential customer bills will increase from $62.67 to $65.23 per month, which includes a 75 cent per month increase in the charge for sewer system improvements.
The commission’s revenue has been impacted by the slowdown in the economy and thus a slowdown in new construction. Still the commission has seen an increase in customers from 12,660 in 2005 to almost 16,000 today.
Getting a much bigger hit are septic haulers. The Grease Trap Waste rate will increase 18.08 percent to $230.94 per one thousand gallons. According to Chief Financial Officer Becky Shick, “This is a significant increase, but as you may recall, this is the third year in a three-year plan to bring the rates for septage hauling up to the cost to treat the waste.”
The commission is proposing a step increase averaging three percent for employees but no cost-of-living increase. Salaries are the biggest part of MetCom’s budget. Included is one new full-time position, a Wastewater Collections System Operator. The position is part of the reorganization of the Water Treatment and Distribution and Wastewater Collections Division.
Shick says, however, the increased revenue requirements due largely to capital costs and not operational costs.
The commission administrative offices will be moving to their new location in May in rental facilities behind the First Colony Shopping Center in California. They have an option to buy the building. The existing offices in the St. Mary’s Industrial Park in Hollywood will be used to consolidate the commission’s widely-dispersed Operations, Maintenance and Construction departments, according to Shick.
