Northport Approves Admin Fee Increases For Water, Sewer & Garbage

NORTHPORT, AL — Northport water, sewer and garbage collection customers will soon see noticeable price increases on their monthly bills after the City Council approved raising administrative fees for the first time in more than a decade.

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Council President Jeff Hogg said the decision comes following a study conducted by an outside firm that suggested raising administrative fees, which had not been increased since 2011.

"This is for administrative fees, this was done because of a study we had," he said. "This was not just city staff, council or mayor to come up with this. We had an outside independent firm come in and take a look ... to see where we stand and how we could do better. And where we stand this was their recommendation to us.

As Patch previously reported, the following increases will begin on Jan. 1, 2023.

• Increases to the fixed monthly administrative fees for both water and sewer by $1.50.
• An additional $1.50 administrative fee would be implemented for water and sewer beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
• Base fees for garbage service will increase by $4.50 a month for residential and $10 a month for commercial.

Northport City Administrator Glenda Webb commented earlier this month that the city is currently losing about $1.5 million to $2 million each year just on garbage, trash and recycling services, which spurred the decision to move forward with administrative fee increases to make up the difference.

Northport water and sewer customers already see a 3.25% increase in commodity rates on their bill at the beginning of each fiscal year. The proposed ordinance, rather, would see the administrative fees increased.

According to comparative data collected by Northport finance officials in stacking up the City of Northport's proposed rate increases for the coming fiscal year with that of the City of Tuscaloosa, the administrative fees proposed for Tuscaloosa are higher than Northport, while Northport's water and sewer rates are higher than its counterpart.

Here's a look at the comparisons:

"I appreciate this council tasking this action," Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon said. "I was in a city last week (Jackson, Mississippi) delivering water that hadn't been proactive in keeping up their water system and had a lot of troubles. So thank you taking the necessary steps."

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