At its Monday night meeting, the Safety Harbor City Commission unanimously approved three ordinances on final readings that will reduce water rates for some residents, but also increase some utility fees for all users.
The changes, the result of a study by an outside consultant Stantec, include:
- Reduce the billed volume cap from 15,000 gallons per month to 10.000 gallons per month for residential users, which will save customers who use between 10,000 and 15,000 gallons a month money. City staff estimates that fewer than 10 percent of residential users will be affected, and the change will cost the city $180,000 in revenue per year.
- Increase service charges for deliquent payments from $15 to $40,
- Increase new meter charges from the current $225 to $405, depending on the size of the meter, to $900-$3,000.
- Increase service deposits from the current $100 to $1,500, depending on the size of the meter, to $200 to $4,790.
- Increase the turn-on fee from $7.50 to $30
- Add a 25 percent surcharge to customers from outside of city limits
- Increase the charge for the first meeting reading from $7.50 to $30 and adding a $45 charge for a customer-requested rereading and a $50 fee for a lien reading.
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