Published: July 16, 2008 02:22 pm      

Study: Georgetown sewer rates to increase 54 percent

Rates would likely stay the same if new treatment plant is built

Results of a sewer rate study released Tuesday yielded bad news for Georgetown residents.

Representatives of the Indianapolis firm Umbaugh and Associates told the Town Council to expect sewer bills to increase approximately 54 percent next year if a wastewater treatment plant is not built to counteract a rate hike.

That would mean the average sewage customer would see their bill jump nearly $40 a month, based on usage of 5,000 gallons monthly.

Council President Billy Stewart said the study — which was funded by the council after being approved in May — shows from an independent source the situation Georgetown is up against.

“The ultimate relief is to build our own plant,” Stewart said.

The obstacles facing the town are numerous.

Georgetown recently won a court decision allowing them to annex the O’Brien property, which is a 23-acre site along

Ind. 64 designated by the council as the location for the plant.

The ruling means Georgetown will eventually claim the property into its boundaries, which would allow officials to build the plant there without approval from the county.

But Stewart said the annexation process — which includes public meetings and time-sensitive notices for impacted residents — would take until December.

That leads to the next problem and reason for the rate study.

Georgetown is a sewer customer of New Albany. The deal between the two municipalities expires at the end of January and there are significant penalties attached to the contract if Georgetown remains on New Albany’s sewage system.

Rates would rise from $2.88 per 1,000 gallons to $10 for the same amount of usage. Umbaugh and Associates representatives also figured a sewer-rate increase of 22 percent into the study, an amount that has been suggested by New Albany Mayor Doug England.

That increase — combined with the jump for staying on New Albany’s system — makes up the majority of the 54 percent increase Georgetown sewer customers would be paying in 2009 if the deadline is not met.

D.A. Andrews, an attorney who represents the council, said an ordinance for increasing the sewer rate would require public hearings and the body would have to start the process in coming weeks.

He added the council has no choice — state law requires sewer rates pay for the cost of providing the utility, according to Andrews.

But the New Albany City Council has yet to vote on any of the proposed increases passed recently by the city’s sewer board, and it is not scheduled to take action during the council’s Thursday meeting.

“I think we should wait on the situation in New Albany to work its way out,” Andrews said.

Potential problem-solver

Andrews and Stewart feel the answer to the Georgetown problem is simple: The Floyd County Commissioners should reverse its November decision to reject the O’Brien property as the site for the plant. Since the land is under the county’s control until annexation, the board has that power.

The council has filed a lawsuit against the county, citing state law that allows a municipality to build a wastewater plant within four miles of its corporate boundaries.

County Planner Don Lopp told The Tribune recently the property was rejected because “it did not meet our comprehensive plan”.

County officials believe there are better places for the plant to go.

“Just because they want to build it there, doesn’t mean we should change our zoning for them,” Lopp said.

Andrews argued moving the plant to another location would cost even more money — as much as $1 million.

“The O’Brien site was selected with a lot of economic considerations embedded in that,” he said, adding the other proposed sites seemed to be geared toward helping the entire county instead of Georgetown.

“They clearly serve intentions beyond Georgetown’s needs currently and for the foreseeable future,” Andrews said.

He anticipates a summary decision regarding the lawsuit with the county July 28. If the decision is in Georgetown’s favor, it would supersede the county’s decision. If not, Andrews said the town could appeal the ruling — a process which would probably last well into the fall.

County officials have said they want to help Georgetown, but Stewart says they seem to still be throwing a road block by waiting for a court decision when time is of the essence.

Georgetown council members have appeared before New Albany’s sewer board, but they were told the substantial rate increase would not be avoided unless significant work on a plant had been done before the contract expires.

Stewart said if Georgetown has to wait on annexation or an appeal of a summary decision, it would be impossible to complete enough construction on a new plant to satisfy New Albany by the January deadline.

The annexation ruling guarantees Georgetown will be able to build a plant on the O’Brien property if the legal process is followed, but that assurance might not be enough for New Albany since it would take months, Stewart said.

The council president added the rate increase suggested by Umbaugh and Associates was more than he expected. The study showed Georgetown customers would likely pay the same rates as now if a plant were built.