Story originally printed in the Holmen Courier or online at www.holmencourier.com

Published - Sunday, February 24, 2008

Hearing on water rate hike set for March 4

By RANDY ERICKSON | Editor

Holmen will soon host a hearing on a proposed increase in its water rates, but village officials expect they’ll hear plenty before the hearing.

“We’re prepared for some phone calls, but I think they just need to keep in perspective that it’s been more than 11 years,” Village Administrator/Clerk Catherine Schmit said. “Most people will realize it’s reasonable and justified.”

The rate increase will strike some people as a pretty big jump. The water rate will go up overall by about 37 percent, and the flat charge for a meter for most people will go up from the current $12 per quarter to $15 per quarter, a 25 percent increase.

For the average Holmen customer — a household that uses about 13,000 gallons every three months — the rate increase will translate to an increase in the quarterly water bill of about $10, going from almost $30 per quarter to about $39 per quarter, Schmit said, which amounts to about a 33-percent hike.

Most residential users are now paying $1.35 per 1,000 gallons, and the proposed increase would set that rate at $1.88 per 1,000. The rates go down the more water a customer uses. The village’s rate for the biggest users — 150,000 gallons per quarter or more — would be $1.60, up from the current $1.20.

The last time the rate was adjusted was September 1996. Before that, Schmit said, the rate seems to have been adjusted every few years. “Which makes sense because then you don’t get a huge jump in the rate,” she said. “I think we’ll look at doing it more periodically.”

The village applied last fall to the state’s Public Service Commission for the rate increase. Jeff Ripp, who is overseeing the rate increase process at the PSC, said some municipalities seek water rate adjustments every other year, but some let many years elapse between increases.

“It’s all over the board,” he said.

The PSC Web site offers a water bill comparison feature that shows Holmen on the low end for water costs. For a customer using 18,750 gallons per quarter, Holmen’s current cost of $37.31 is higher than La Crosse ($35.25) and West Salem ($35.78).

Holmen’s current rate is lower than the other utilities in the county, including Onalaska ($37.50), Rockland ($42.78), Mindoro ($50.68), Bangor ($56.44), Shelby ($65.76) and St. Joseph ($99.19). Rockland also is seeking a water rate increase, with a proposed hike of about 73 percent.

Ripp said the new rate for Holmen would translate to a $52.60 quarterly cost for 18,750 gallons, well below the $68.56 average for Class C utilities in the state.

In addition to the long interval since the last rate increase for Holmen, other reasons for the proposed increase include the need to pay for a new well and a new reservoir.

People who want to comment on Holmen’s proposed water rate increase can come to Village Hall on Tuesday, March 4, for the PSC hearing, which starts at 10 a.m.

People also can submit written comments up to noon on March 3 by faxing them to (608) 266-3957 or posting their comments online at http://psc.wi.gov/apps/dockets/comment.aspx/.

AT A GLANCE