FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FORT MYERS, Fla. (July
3, 2002) – After eight years, Lee County Utilities is requesting a minimal
increase in its user rates and a public hearing to discuss this increase has
been scheduled for Tuesday (July 9).
The
hearing will be at 5 p.m. in the County Commission Chambers, Old County
Courthouse, 2120 Main Street in downtown Fort Myers.
The
increase being sought is an average of 3.9 percent for water rates and 6.9
percent for wastewater rates.
The
county hasn’t increased its utilities rates since 1984.
Inflation since then has been 22 percent.
The
increase is needed due to rising costs and for $243 million of improvements to
the system over the next five years.
Lee
County Utilities commissioned Public Resources Management Group, Inc. to do a
rate study earlier this year. The
proposed increase follows the recommendation of the study.
Overall,
for a typical residential customer using 5,000 gallons per month of water, the
increase would be about 75 cents water and $2.05 for sewer on the customer’s
monthly bill.
Lee
County’s residential utilities rate structure is based on usage, with the
per-thousand-gallon charge increasing as usage increases.
The
county’s Utilities Division serves 48,500 water and 33,600 sewer customers in
portions of North, East and South Lee County.
The county operates five wastewater-treatment plants – Fort Myers
Beach, Fiesta Village, Waterway Estates, Highpoint and Pine Island – with a
total of 10-million gallons of capacity per day, and five water-treatment plants
– College Parkway, Corkscrew, Green Meadows, Olga and Waterway Estates –
with a combined 26-million gallons of capacity per day.
The Utilities Division has an annual operating budget of about $27
million.