Chenoa city officials received feedback on the water improvement project and explained how it could impact water rates during a public meeting held Sunday afternoon at the city’s football field.
Mayor David Shane explained the city is trying to do two phases of new water mains and they have some other ideas on how to pay for it based on consumption and the base rate.
“It’s not a matter of if we do it but when we do it,” said Shane. “We’ve got some discussions to be done on how we want to do this.”
If everything goes right, the mayor expects digging to be happening a year from now.
“The reason I started out with the $30 (increase) was we have to prove we can pay 100 percent of the IEPA loan. To have solid numbers, the only way you can do that is to have solid income,” notes Shane.
Farnsworth has put together numbers on ways it would approach the IEPA grant proposal. Shane would like to see the city pass an ordinance as soon as possible.
Current water rates are a flat rate of $15.30 for the first 1,000 gallons and $0.015 cents per gallon thereafter. To generate required revenues to produce an average monthly water bill of at least $87.69, a few potential new water rate options were created by engineers.
“I’d like to build up a little bit of a cushion in the water and sewer department and that will also help us when we get done with the first two phases to pay on the third one.”
Former commissioner and local resident Dwayne Price asked why all of this needed to be done at one time. Shane replied the city is losing water.
“Can we afford that much?” asked Price.
“$32 a month is what it would take to put in a third of this new water infrastructure,” replied Shane.
Shane was told Chenoa was at the top of the list for principal loan forgiveness due to all of the water main breaks last year. Shane said the city must also deal with copper abatement which it is trying to integrate into the water project. The mayor feels there is grant money out there.
One man in attendance asked if there has been any improvement in water loss with the mains that were replaced. Shane said they have seen some improvement.
The efficiency in the water plant is not as good as the mayor would like to see it and he believes the project will need to be done at some point as it is not going to get any cheaper.
“When would the rate increase take effect?” asked one woman.
“I’d like to do it sooner than later,” Shane responded.
The mains which are a problem are the ones the city is going after first. When main breaks happen now, there are no separate shut-offs and the whole town has to be shut down.
Another woman asked if the city has taken into consideration taxes going up with the Prairie Central school district’s future plans. Shane noted there will be an Airport Authority tax in McLean County, too.
“Chenoa is going to be in terrible shape as far as taxing,” Shane admitted.
“How much do you think people can handle, especially those on a fixed income?” asked another resident.
Shane said the city is looking into how they can help those individuals afford it.
Since it costs so much to produce water, Shane says they haven’t been making enough off of the income to pay for expenses.
“Our infrastructure has got to get fixed at some point,” said Shane.
A couple who is new in town thanked the city for being diligent on keeping an eye on water being wasted.
“How does the city move forward is there a vote?” asked Pastor Tim Huber with Christ Community Church.
Shane explained the city council must pass an ordinance to raise rates.
Price urged fellow residents in attendance to get out and talk to their councilman that will be voting on this.
“We are losing 47 percent of the water we produce and we should be losing 10 to 12 percent,” added the mayor.
Another public meeting is planned for the future as the engineers will discuss environmental impacts. Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact the mayor or city hall. Regular council meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 p.m.
Mayor Shane considers Sunday afternoon’s session at the football field a “good meeting.”
“I love having people come out and ask questions.”
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