Water Board Set To Raise Rates Again
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The city's water board is on the verge of raising rates again.
The board is meeting Friday, and is expected to approve a 14 percent hike.
Rates went up about the same last year.
Ahead of the vote, City Comptroller Bill Thompson and City Councilman David Weprin are calling on the city to change the way it maintains the system. At a news conference yesterday, they said there needs to be a more effective way to calculate water and sewer charges.
"Because they dropped the ball, rate payers are going to be on the hook this year for extra increases," Thompson said. "That is wrong, it is unacceptable, and as usual, as it's happened the last couple of years, rate payers are being gouged."
The Department of Environmental Protection says it did initiate a study last year, but the analysis will not be ready in time for the 2010 rate-setting process.