HU board approves base rate hike for water, sewer

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle residents will see an increase in rates for water and sewage when they receive their utility bills this month.
The residential base rates for water and sewer were increased from $4.01 to $5.97 and $12.71 to $15.30 per month, respectively, by action of the Hartselle Utilities Board at a regular meeting on June 29. This means HU customers will pay $1.96 more per month for water and $2.59 more for sewage, or a total of $54.60 per year, effective with customer billings after July 1.
The additional revenue generated by the rate increase is needed to meet future debt service requirements, according to General Manager Ferrell Vest.
Vest said the board elected to go with base rate increases as a new revenue measure after reviewing five alternative plans which were presented to them for consideration. Volumetric rates remained unchanged.
HU has 6,826 water customers and 4,439 sewage customers.