Oxford Village residents will be given the opportunity to speak their minds at Tuesday, July 8 public hearing regarding a proposed $4.59 per month increase in the sanitary sewer rate.
The change would bring the rate for single family residential units from $18.26 to $22.85 per month.
‘Currently, Village of Oxford sanitary sewer rates are among the lowest in Michigan,? Manager Mark Slown wrote in a memo to council. ‘This increase will bring us up to the middle of the rate distibution curve.?
Slown said the proposed increase is meant to offset the rate increase Oakland County has imposed on the village for operating its sewer system in the 2003-04 fiscal year beginning July 1.
According to village Treasurer Linda Smith, the increase from county amounts to approximately $36,000. Part of the reason behind the county’s increase is that the Detroit Sewer and Water Board increased its rates for the Oakland.
Slown noted in his memo to council that ‘unfunded federal mandates for environmental protection? are another reason behind the proposed rate increase for village sewer users.
Slown said officials did not want to dip into the sewer fund to cover the increase because that money is needed to self-insure the system in the event of backups, pay for emergency repairs and finance future sewer infrastructure replacement and improvements without the need for special assessments.
‘We’re not trying to build up the fund equity, we’re just trying to preserve it,? Slown said, noting the proposed increase to users is simply meant to ‘reimburse? the village for the cost of operating the sewer system.
In July 2002, council increased the sanitary sewer rate from $17 to $18.26 to help offset a $68,722 increase from the county.
However, at that time, Slown noted that the village was passing on half of the county’s increase to customers, while ‘absorbing? the other half itself.