Spencer Municipal Utilities (SMU) Board of Trustees has approved a water rate increase effective June 1, 2010.
The increase, which was approved at the board’s April meeting, is designed to pay for costs current repairs and maintenance needed on the water treatment system. “We want to keep our infrastructure maintained and continue to provide quality water for future generations and the monthly increase will help with that,” says Amanda Gloyd, sales and marketing coordinator.
Customers will begin seeing a $10.00 monthly customer charge per service address beginning with their June electric and water bills. This fixed increase will help to recoup distribution equally among all customers and will not change depending on the time of year. Along with the additional customer charge fee, SMU is eliminating the minimum charge for customer usage while the rate will increase on water usage for up to 100,000 gallons to $2.75 per thousand while usage over 100,000 will increase to $2.15 per thousand beginning on the July statements for usage during June. Customers who have outside water that is metered separately will see the rate increase to $3.90 per thousand also beginning on the July statement.
“The increase in rates was needed for the upcoming construction projects to keep our distribution and water quality to the highest standards. We strive to provide great service and continue to plan for growth for years to come,” says Gloyd.
The replacement of the dome on our finished water tank is a substantial maintenance project scheduled for 2010. The current dome has been in place since the 1960s and the structural integrity has deteriorated over the years. The issues were identified during routine inspections and the new aluminum construction is expected to last for many years.
“As our construction projects take place, we will keep customers informed of the infrastructure and distribution improvements we’re making,” says Gloyd.
Spencer Municipal Utilities is a leading provider of cable, Internet, telephone and cellular service through i wireless in the Spencer community and has been providing water and electric services since 1886.
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