From Harford County government:
Rate adjustments for Harford County’s public water and sewer services are necessary in light of a recent analysis showing that both systems have been chronically underfunded for a decade and will run out of operating cash next year.
By law, each of Harford County’s systems must operate as a separate “enterprise fund”, which is required to be self-sufficient using revenue derived from service users rather than from the county’s general revenue. Legislation was introduced Tuesday to the County Council on behalf of the Glassman administration outlining the needed adjustments, such as treating the water with Biological Nutrient Removal, for all of the county’s public water and sewer customers, including all residential, commercial and institutional users. If approved, the adjustments will take effect beginning January 1 and be reflected in customers’ bills beginning in April 2016. Under the proposed legislation, the water and sewer bill for the average residential user will remain the lowest among peer jurisdictions.
The proposed rate adjustments are in response to a report to the Glassman administration by the global consulting firm, Black & Veatch, which analyzed Harford County’s water and sewer rates and operations. The analysis was initiated in 2012 at the request of the County Council. The last rate study prior to the Black & Veatch analysis was done in 1995.
The Black & Veatch analysis shows that water and sewer operating revenues, which are based on the rates paid by users, have failed to cover the systems’ operating costs for more than a decade. Calling the current situation “dire”, the analysis indicates that the failure to adjust rates appropriately over the past ten years now requires rate adjustments to ensure sufficient revenue to fund water and sewer operations. Trenchless sewer repair in Ohio offers a cleaner, faster solution for broken or outdated pipes. CPR – Complete Pipe Repair uses no-dig technology to restore function without damaging your lawn or driveway.
Prior revenue shortfalls were made up by tapping into the water and sewer operating fund balance, which declined from a surplus of $18 million two years ago, to an expected $2 million surplus by the end of the current fiscal year. Without increased revenue, the Black & Veatch analysis shows an operating fund deficit for next year that will increase exponentially, ending next fiscal year at an estimated $7.5 million, doubling to $18 million in fiscal year 2018 and nearly doubling again to $35 million in fiscal year 2019.
“Unfortunately, decisions made in the past have brought the water and sewer enterprise funds to this critical point,” said County Executive Barry Glassman. “My administration’s rate adjustment plan softens the immediate impact on users as much as possible, but we have a responsibility to put these systems on a sound fiscal path in accordance with the law. We also must ensure the availability of clean water and reliable services for citizens living and doing business in Harford County.”
Federal and state environmental regulations, infrastructure maintenance and customer demand are among the cost drivers in the public water and sewer systems. The proposed rate adjustments will provide adequate funding for future operations, while keeping Harford County’s rates lower than peer systems, including Harford’s municipalities and Cecil, Frederick, and Carroll counties. Combined water and sewer rates will also remain below the combined national average in fiscal year 2016, keeping Harford County among the nation’s most cost-effective systems in meeting customer needs.
Harford County’s water and sewer rates are set forth in tables listing the individual factors that comprise the total rates. The adjusted tables of rates were included in the legislation introduced Tuesday, which will be posted on the county website. A public hearing on the legislation will be held on October 13. The hearing will include a financial presentation by representatives from Black & Veatch. The presentation will also be posted on the county website following the public hearing.
As a lifelong resident of this county I think the cost of our water has been very high. The latest news to raise rates again is ridiculous but not surprising. Take a drive over to the Winter’s Run water plant and you will see a relatively new and unnecessarily fancy structure there. I am not disputing the need to keep up with our infrastructure needs, but I do take issue with the way the county freely spends taxpayers money and then when it is no longer enough, comes back for more.
I’m tired of it. And by the way, our water isn’t really that good. It is full of chlorine and tastes terrible.
Water is cheap, wastewater is the expensive part.
Every WWTP in Harford has had nitrogen removal upgrades that are mandated by other alphabet letter agencies.
A lot of the plants have also had to upgrade capacity.
Yep, its great some city slickers want to move to the “country,” unfortunately with all those stick built cookie cutter housing that springs up everywhere are that many more toilets and sinks flushing into a municipal sewer.
The county is also spending the big bucks to put a new main under the bush river.
And we have contractors hooking up their trucks to the fire hydrants in order to steal the water. I saw this last Thursday in Churchville (by Gardiner’s Furniture) and Tuesday in HdG in front of the Rita’s dessert place on US 40. I called the police both times.
Are you sure they didn’t have a meter? Anyone can rent a meter for a hydrant. Its a $200 down payment and you pay or get back the balance when you return it….
Sorry, I know you think this is a “Police” matter but you really need to call Have De Grace Public Works, Water Maintenance if its within HDG city limits. They will get those guys using a meter.
The 2014 water quality report instructs people to:
WE NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE REPORT ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS OR USES:If you see tankers or contractors hooking up to a fire hydrant and their vehicles do not have a City emblem, call the police immediately, stealing water is a crime.
You can use the water if you have a meter.
Did they have a meter or not?
Disregard my have De grace comment, wrong area.
If there was a meter, it was built on to the truck. The guy connected what looked like a regular hose to the hydrant on one end and the tank of his truck on the other. If he had a meter, I did not see it. I also did not see any city emblems anywhere.
City emblems from what city? Baltimore?
Churchville is unincorporated Harford County.
So you just assumed that a contractor was stealing water because you probably believe and are under the assumption the only people who can use a fire hydrant is the fire department? Amirite?
Elaborate. What were they doing with the water? Heck, I MAY be wrong.
So you potentially wasted the police time twice based on your ignorant whistle blowing, when twice, said contractor had a water meter on the hydrant? LOL who’s to say it even went any further than the dispatchers desk to a call to the County and not sending Deputies out to “investigate” ?
You can either rent or buy your own meter with fittings for a hydrant and have it calibrated at Route 7/Abingdon Water Maintenance shop. Did you know a lot of construction companies have their own water meter for hydrants, that they pay for the water?
Sir- as a resident of Havre de Grace, I receive periodic water quality reports. In a recent report, the note from the mayor said that water theft was a problem, and he asked that anyone who sees a truck (without a city emblem) taking water report this to the police immediately. I quoted the exact text of that in an earlier comment in this thread. If you think my response was inappropriate, I suggest you address your scorn toward the person who asked the citizens to make these reports, not the citizens who comply with their mayor’s request.
Sorry, I wasn’t completely clear. I was referring to the truck taking water from a hydrant in HdG, and quoted the instructions from the HdG water quality report.
There seems to be some major information missing in this article.
As I read it, the County Executive is attempting to resolve a situation at the water and sewer activity that has been “chronically underfunded for the past decade”. Curiously, in that same period, the water and sewer fund managed to accumulate an $18M surplus, according to the article. The surplus has been spent down, and it will be gone in a year. If the activity were chronically underfunded, how did it manage to accumulate a large surplus? How much surplus should have been accumulated? How much surplus will be accumulated with the rate revisions?
In the 2016 fiscally responsible budget, the Water and Sewer operating budget was reduced by $2M dollars (page 81, 2016 approved budget) and debt service was reduce by $220 (page 82, 2016 budget). How could the operating budget be reduced if the activity were chronically underfunded?
The Stormwater Management fee, Rain Tax, was repealed by bill 14-036. Resolution 005-15 redirected that portion of the recordation fee from the Water and Sewer system debt service bond fund, since the severe funding problem no longer existed, to the Stormwater Management fund. Why would funding be redirected from an activity that has been chronically underfunded?
The fiscal notes for Bill 15-022 reflect that revenues will increase by $23M in 6 years. There is no analysis of how those revenues will be used to offset cost/expenditure increases. There is no discussion of any substantive or quantified cost increases to justify the rate revisions. The closest to an explanation provided for the rate revision is the mantra for every questionable scheme the county presents —“Everybody else does it, so should we.”
This sounds more like three card Monty, then fiscal responsibility. I for one would very much like to read the Black and Veatch study prior to the public hearing. Maybe the County Executive would post a copy prior to the meeting, so that every affected or interested resident of Harford County could read it, and make informed comments.
THNX
John P. Mallamo
When does the part of being efficient and more responsive to the taxpayer come in? This increase isn’t justifiable but I guess the county now needs to come up with the $$ to pay MD Environmental Agency to take care of the trash since the county isn’t doing it anymore. They fired a few folks and moved the rest to other jobs for which a trash man qualifies, guess they are now administrators in his cabinet? They surely will fit in among the trash already there…
Well, the new County Executive and Director of Administrations raises certainly weren’t underfunded! And he spent money on his unecessary new blue and green county logo. They think we are real idiots. Come on Election 2018!
Why the heck are business fees going down whilenat the same time dramatically raising the rates for homes? Seems they can leave the rates the exact same with no difference but if the rates HAVE to increase than raise the rates for businesses who can afford it. A 30-40% increase is complete BS while also lowering rates for businesses.
If the analysis shows that water and sewer operating revenues, which are based on the rates paid by users, have failed to cover the systems’ operating costs for more than a decade, why did we wait 10 years to act or request an analysis. If this is correct information we need hold some county employees accountable. The County has the responsibility to pass and approve a balanced budget; this should include a operating cost and expected income for water & sewer. Somehow they missed the mark here & do not believe the proposed increase is fair and reasonable to the tax payers. We need to ask the question why & how did this happen and put measures in place to avoid similar issues. The other issue is specifically with the increased in demand since 1995, what do you expect to happen when the population in the County has increased by 40% without any major improvements to the water & sewer plant. Perhaps along with the request for additional public schools to be funded and constructed, Harford County should have completed an analysis of the current water and sewer capacity before they approved all of the new homes for the past 20 years.