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Question: The city of Mansfield is considering raising water rates. One of the proposed charges each month is a “readiness to serve” charge. What in the world does that term mean? I’ve seen no explanation. How much will it cost water customers? How much money will be generated and what will it be used for? Please tell me more.
MANSFIELD — Proposed changes to water rates for the city’s residents and businesses can be difficult to try to calculate.
Conversion from cubic feet to gallons, depending on if you have the new water meters. Elimination of the lowest rate of billing at 3,000 gallons or 400 cubic feet. Math needed — i.e. multiply number of gallons used by $0.004191 to determine the bill for the first 37,500 gallons used.
Regardless, proposed changes to Section 941.08 (water charges) of the Mansfield Codified Ordinance of 1997 are expected to generate an additional $3.4 million annually, according to city engineer Bob Bianchi, who maintains the increases are necessary for an aging distribution system.
“Our water system is aging and we have some water lines over 100 years old,” Bianchi said. “We looked at expenses, we looked at revenues, we looked at capital needs and determined are we going to be able to do the things we need to do to maintain our system with the current (water) rate structure?
“We are not,” Bianchi said.
The new “readiness to serve” charge is more black-and-white in its cost as compared to rates, though a bit more nebulous in its reasoning.
The minimum local residents will pay, effective Jan. 1, 2023, under this new charge is an additional $10.93 per month — assuming they have the 1-inch (or less) meter. That jumps up to $21.83 for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches and to $43.65 for a 2-inch meter.
The increased rates will generate an estimated $680,000 in additional annual revenue. The readiness charge is expected to generate another $2.7 million — almost 80 percent of the total increase.
Under the legislation City Council is scheduled to vote on Dec. 6, those readiness-to-serve charges will increase 3 percent each year.
During an Oct. 19 Mansfield City Council meeting, Public Works Director Dave Remy said readiness-to-serve charges are based on meter size and ensure customers can have water access immediately. These fixed costs would be charged regardless of how much water a resident uses.
“Let’s say you have a snowbird family that wants to go to Florida for three months, but they don’t want to have their water shut off or terminated — it’s the ability to have water immediately,” Remy said.
To Bianchi, the new charge, and the increased rates, are all tied to the same goal — allowing the city to continue to provide water to its customers.
“Our water infrastructure is aging and becoming more susceptible to breaks. The readiness-to-serve charge will provide the city revenue to begin to replace its aging infrastructure,” he said.
Bianchi said the the city’s current rate structure does not put Mansfield in a position to replace watermains.
“Our current path is unsustainable and will lead to a higher frequency of watermain breaks, causing disruption of service to increase,” he said.
Moreover, he said, the city has a permit with the EPA that allows the city to provide and purvey water to customers.
“This permit requires the city to ‘ensure that all facilities and equipment necessary for the treatment and distribution of water shall be maintained, at a minimum so as to function as intended,'” the engineer said.
“Simply put, the city needs to be ready to serve its customers with safe drinking water, as well as to support fire protection services. The increase in water rates will help the city do so,” he said.
