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Dunkirk's proposed water rate increases are on hold for now.
The Common Council did not consider the local law that would change the rates at its latest session last week. The item was not on the agenda at all.
However, there was a public hearing on the proposed changes before the council meeting. Not a single person spoke.
The changes would raise the "base fee" that all water users pay, regardless of volume, from $20 to $30 per quarter. Users would get up to 3,000 gallons of water for their $30, a rise of 1,000 gallons from the current base fee cut off.
People who use more than 3,000 gallons per billing quarter would pay $5 for each 1,000 gallons used after hitting the 3,000 gallon mark. The current rate is $4.33 per 1,000 gallons.
The city would also end its "declining block rate" system that charges large industrial customers much less when they hit high usage volumes.
City industries pay about $2.30 per 1,000 gallons, Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury said this week at a meeting of the council's DPW committee. He said that doesn’t even cover the cost of the electricity needed to get the water to the industries.
Councilwoman Natalie Luczkowiak, DPW committee chair, said she had a lot of questions about the proposal. Luczkowiak indicated she is still doing her research, and appears unsure if she will vote for the changes.
Woodbury, his deputy Mike Przybycien, and former Councilwoman Nancy Nichols all made complaints that the water rates should have been raised years ago.
Woodbury claimed the city water fund has lost $20 million over the past 10 years because it was not funded correctly and didn't keep up with inflation.