The Village of South Jacksonville’s Board of Trustees have officially agreed to a water rate hike.
The board has been working for several weeks on an agreement on an increase to offset losses currently occurring with the village’s water billing with the City of Jacksonville charging the village just over $10 per 1,000 gallons while the village is only billing customers at a little over $5 per 1,000 gallons. Village President Dick Samples says that the rate hike will close the $5 gap.
He says once the Village’s water plant is back up and running, the rate increase will go towards annual maintenance and costs for the village’s water department: “If we can supply water to our customers now that equals or is better than what is Jacksonville is giving to us, then we would do that. In the event that we can’t, and it’s probably going to be an estimated 3-6 months before we’re back online with our water…but if we aren’t able to give our customers a quality product like we’re getting now, then we will probably stay with Jacksonville.”
The new rate for South Jacksonville water customers is $24 for the first 2,000 gallons of usage, and $10 for each additional 1,000 gallons. The village hasn’t had a rate increase since 2004.
The rate increases will be applied to March water usage, so village residents will see the increase reflected on their April 1 bill.
The rate increase ordinance also carries a 3-5% rate increase each year, with the start of the new rates on January 1st annually, at the board’s approval. The board also did away with summer sewer rates, but residents can still sign up for it so that water used in pools and in gardens do not affect the household’s billing each month. The summer rate is based on a current calculation of the household’s usage.
For more information, contact Village Hall at 217-245-4803.