City council revisits water tax proposal

By Kipp Hanley

Published: April 10, 2008

An overwhelming response from residents at Tuesday's public hearing prodded the Manassas Park council to revisit proposed changes to its water and sewer rates.

The goal is to present a modified rate structure to the city council in its regular meeting next week, said Public Works Director Kathy Gammell. Residents were upset at the sliding rates that would penalize high consumption users, and they let the council know about it this week.

The city initially proposed the new rate, in part, to encourage conservation.

"I think all of us felt like the residents made very good points," Gammell said. "We are going to try to spread [the cost] more evenly among the lower end users and the higher end users."

The current rate of $39 per month is based on 1,000 gallons and goes up by $4 per 1,000 gallons used. Under the proposed rate, the rate would drop to $11.75 for those who use just 1,000 gallons. This is because the base fee would be eliminated.

However, for those that use 5,000 gallons or more per month, the rate would go up, in some cases precipitously. For example, a family that uses 8,000 gallons would pay $94.50, a 41 percent increase in what they are currently paying.

Another issue raised by residents was the timlieness of the meter readings. Resident Christina Brucker said the meter readings have been sporadic at her house and claimed her last bill was administered by city officials "guessing" on the amount of water used during that period.

"No one came out to read my meter," said Brucker, who said she pays twice as much for utilities in Manassas Park than when she lived in Fairfax County. "... If we go to this tier rate and they're guessing, I can't even imagine what I might do."

Resident Kendall Gardner also didn't agree with the proposed rate and called the quality of Manassas Park's water "substandard."

The rate change will come on the heels of badly needed infrastructure improvements in the city, which are projected to cost more than $30 million in the next 10 years. That money will be spent on, among other things, water meter and well replacements as well as the installation of new water main lines and hydrants.

The money needed to pay for these improvements will likely come out of the city's water and sewer funds,  said Manassas Park Finance Director Gary Fields.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738 or .