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Dunkirk has raised its water rates, effective Jan. 1.
The Common Council voted 3-2 on Tuesday to pass a local law enacting the changes. The ward representatives were split: Natalie Luczkowiak and Michael Civiletto voted "no," while Frank Torain and Gary Frederickson were in favor. That left the deciding ballot to Councilman-at-large Nick Weiser, who hesitated a second before his affirmative vote.
Torain hoped to delay the vote until the next meeting so the council can have more time to study the proposal. However, Comptroller Tracy Smith-Dengler told him that could delay Mayor Kate Wdowiasz's budget proposal by another month -- which would put the city out of compliance within state law.
The biggest reason Civiletto and Luczkowiak voted "no" appears to be that changes for residential and industrial customers were included in the same law. They wanted them considered as separate issues, in separate laws.
The law raises the "base fee" that all customers pay, regardless of water usage, from $20 to $30. The rate for water used over 3,000 gallons was raised to $5 per 1,000 gallons, from the current $4.33; the benchmark was also boosted from the previous 2,000 gallons.
The law also ends a "declining block rate" that gave big discounts, once industrial users reached high-volume benchmarks.
After the meeting, Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury sought to explain the city's position. Luczkowiak also contacted the OBSERVER to explain hers.
Woodbury sent along a water rate analysis that was requested by the council's Finance Committee.
The analysis, signed by Woodbury, said the rate increase would raise monthly costs for residents who use 3,000 gallons from $24.33 a month to $30. That's called "lower than all other north county municipal rates for residents and below the $34.06 that would be required for a full inflation based adjustment."
Woodbury's analysis claims the city has lost $3 million in revenue over the last decade "by not raising rates annually to match inflation."
Woodbury stated that Dunkirk would still have the lowest water rates in northern Chautauqua County, even after the raises.
He concluded that there is no balance in a city water fund, yet crucial repairs are needed -- fixing a filter bed and cleaning out the intake at the treatment plant, for example.
Luczkowiak emailed a statement where she criticized the move to raise residential rates.
"The city is right to fix our broken industrial water rate," she began. "For years, the more industry used, the less they paid per gallon. That structure drained the water fund.
"This is an industrial problem, not a resident problem. Residents did not create the deficit. Residents pay their bills on time. Families and seniors are already stretched thin.
"We should correct industrial rates to protect the fund. We should not balance that budget on the backs of homeowners.
"The purpose should be to correct the deficit caused by prior industrial rate design without additional burden on residential taxpayers."