The City of Danville is planning to increase the monthly fee that it charges residents on their sewer bill in order to repair and replace the city’s sewer systems.
Under a proposal by City Engineer Same Cole, the monthly residential sewer fee would increase by an average of $13.65 a month to a flat fee of $29.75 for all residential customers (current residential rates are on a sliding scale in terms of monthly usage based on 2006 data). The monthly fee for multi-unit facilities would increase to $17.85 a month per unit.
Commercial customers using less than 10,000 gallons of water a month would pay a flat fee of $59.50 under the new proposal, a $47 increase.
Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. says the city has experienced multiple sewer failures since he became mayor in November 2018. In one instance, a woman fell into a sinkhole that formed in front of Roselawn School. He says the city’s sewer systems have never been adequately funded.
Cole says the city would need more than $1 million annually to replace its gravity sewers, $1.165 million annually to repair and replace its pump stations and $1.125 million annually to replace storm sewers. Williams says he is hopeful some of the sewers can simply be lined at a lesser cost to avoid paying more money if one were to collapse. The fee increases are expected to bring in an additional $4 million each year to the city.
Williams says residential customers would pay $38 per month on their bill from the Danville Sanitary District ($29.75 for the city plus $8.25 for the sanitary district). He noted that the rates would still be lower than what residents of Oakwood, Georgetown, Catlin, Paris, Tilton and Ridge Farm pay on their monthly sewer bills.
The proposed new rate would increase by five percent annually to keep up with inflation and an estimated population loss of one percent each year.
The rates will go before the city council on November 3rd for a vote. If council members approve the proposal, then they would go into effect in April 2021.
