By Karen Hall

Editor

Cutting the proposed increase in water and sewer rates in half was suggested by Councilman Odie Whitehead Jr. at a City Council work session Monday.

"It would be a good gesture," Whitehead said. "We could reach a happy medium." Then, he said, after six months at the new rate, the water board could look again at consumption and see if water usage had gone up.

"I will take this back to the board," promised Councilman Trigg Cathey, who is also a member of the Water and Sewer Board.

"We've got to make a wise and just decision," Whitehead said. "We've got to have consensus on the council to keep moving in the right direction."

"I partially agree with Councilman Whitehead," said Councilman Robin Minor, the most vocal opponent of the rate increase.

"I realize we're stuck between a rock and a hard place," he continued. "But we didn't get there overnight."

City Manager Randall Dunn and Economic Development Director Greg Lowe presented a PowerPoint to answer questions councilmen had asked about the Water and Wastewater Department.

The presentation included a breakdown of projected department expenses for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. These include a new backhoe, three new pickup trucks, a new hoist for the workshop, and a 2 percent pay increase for employees. The cost of debt service has increased because the interest-only period of repayment on one loan has expired, and now payments must cover both interest and principal.

"What kind of business sense is it to give raises when you owe that kind of money?" exclaimed Minor. "It's not logical. When Bill Marsh talked to us, all we heard about was debt service. The state will not jump in if we don't buy this new equipment. I'm for helping them with their indebtedness, but I will never vote to give a rate increase to people who got pay raises and bought equipment. We've got to give them something, but it doesn't have to be for their wish list."

"They've been fiscally conservation and saved money," argued Cathey. "They haven't been given everything they asked for."

Cathey pointed out that Lewisburg's water and sewer rates are the cheapest of 12 surrounding systems. Residents of Thompson's Station, for instance, will soon be paying double Lewisburg's proposed increased price.

"It's not like something's going on," said Cathey. "If we're such a bargain, we're doing a good job."

"Nobody's saying there's anything going on," said Minor. "Your credit is overextended: you've borrowed more than you can pay back."

Former Mayor Bob Phillips broke a rule he said he'd made for himself when he left office.

"I was determined not to come to council meetings," he said, but he felt he had to come to explain some of the history of the water department.

"A lot of it came back when I was mayor," Phillips said. "We put a lot of pressure on the Water Department" to buy the Cornersville system.

"We pushed them to put the water out to Exit 32," he said. "There's nothing happening there yet, but without water and sewer it's never going to happen. We encouraged the line to Oak Grove (Elementary School) because there is some prime real estate in that area. We're ready for development, we've been investing in our future, and we in the city encouraged that."

"We don't want the dedicated employees of the Water Department to get the idea we don't value them," added Mayor Jim Bingham. "They are talented, experienced people, and we're indebted to them."

The PowerPoint also included a comparison of consumption rates. Customers in Lewisburg are using an average of 3,600 gallons per month, while water customers in the county average 5,000 gallons, and Cornersville customers average 6,300 gallons. County and Cornersville customers thus "provide a larger revenue stream per household," Dunn said.

Figures were also presented that showed water and wastewater department employees had received raises comparable to other utilities' and the city's employees, and their benefits were also comparable.

The Municipal Technical Advisory Service will perform an assessment of the Water and Wastewater Department's management and its rates, but this cannot be done until early next year.

The City Council will conduct the second of three votes on the water and sewer rate increase during their October meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, at City Hall, 131 East Church Street.