Charleston residents could soon pay more for their sewer service. A bill was introduced at Monday night's City Council meeting that would increase the Charleston Sanitary Board's rates.
The proposal calls for an increase from $21.87 to $26.06 for the first 2,000 gallons of water used each month. An additional rate for each 1,000 gallons used after that would increase from $11.97 to $14.26 should the bill pass council without amendments.
The proposed rate increase isn't unexpected. Sanitary board director Larry Roller said last year it would apply for a rate increase in 2015.
The sanitary board's current rates are based on 1.5 percent of the area's median household income from the 2000 Census. But since that time, the city's median household income has increased 40 percent, from $34,009 in 2000 to $47,582, according to 2008-2012 U.S. Census data.
The sanitary board was last granted a 33 percent increase in 2011.
The proposal was referred to council's Finance Committee.
Council voted Monday night to again offer free parking on Saturdays during the holiday season. Parking in the city will be free at all city operated facilities on November 28 and December 5, 12, and 19.
Members of the Finance Committee and other council members present were given updates on the city's other pension benefits (OPEB) liabilities. Those are health care costs for retirees that are paid for by the city.
A report from Treasurer Vic Grigoraci showed the city has $126 million in OPEB liabilities. But City Manager David Molgaard said Monday, "There's a lot of assumptions that go into that number."
Claims costs are expected to increase by $1 million each year, Molgaard said. Then there is a discount rate of 5 percent. Molgaard added the number also took into account a 3 percent inflation rate and a payroll increase.
"Our payroll grew 4 percent in the last budget year, but five years prior to that it was zero," Molgaard said.
City Council voted this summer to give city employees a 4 percent raise.
The city handles OPEB payments on a "pay go" basis. If council wanted to start putting away money each year to cover projected costs, it would have to dedicate $10 million annually to that, Molgaard said.
Over the past four years, the city has managed to keep its OPEB claim costs level with the exception of one year when there were many cases of cancer among its retirees, Molgaard said. Last year's claims costs were at $10.5 million.
The city also has a $9.1 million OPEB reserve fund that it has yet to dip into, Molgaard said.
In other business Monday, Council:
n voted to rezone parcels of land at 910 Pennsylvania Ave. and 330 MacCorkle Ave. SE from industrial districts to commercial districts.
n Amended the city's budget to include $1,887,140 in sales tax revenue from the Uniform Pension Reserve Fund.
n Approved a $519,000 change order for the Civic Center project that will pay for permanent egress steps from the coliseum to Clendenin Street.
n Voted to apply for three grants from the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.
One $78,000 grant would pay for upgrades to security equipment at the Civic Center. Another grant would pay for 100 interoperable radios for the Charleston Fire Department at a cost of $143,000. The last grant would pay $138,027 for structural collapse training and equipment for the city fire department.
n Approved a $7,500 change order with Allegheny Restoration Inc. for the removal and reinstallation of floor drains at the Oakridge Drive fire station.
n Entered into an agreement for gasoline through bids to be received by the Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority.
n Honored Mike Stuart for his coordination of efforts toward Charleston's vice presidential or presidential debate host application.
n Honored Lew Tyree and George Henderson for their work on the Police Civil Service Commission.
Reach Rachel Molenda at rachel.molenda@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5102 or follow @rachelmolenda on Twitter.