Oconee County Commissioners Asked During Budget Hearings To Approve Water And Sewer Rate Increases

Oconee County Utility Department Director Wayne Haynie is asking for a 1.0 percent increase in the base water rate and a 1.5 percent increase for those who use just slightly more water per month.

Those who are heavier users actually will see a reduction in water rates, if the Board of Commissioners accepts Haynie’s recommendations.

The base sewer rate would drop, under Haynie’s plan, but rates for those producing higher and more usual sewer flow would increase significantly.

The proposed increases for fiscal year 2017-2018 follow 0 percent increases in both water and sewer rates for the current fiscal year compared with a year earlier.

Haynie told the Board of Commissioners in a budget hearing before Tuesday night’s regularly scheduled Commission meeting that he expects to be asking for rate increases in each of the next three years roughly comparable to what he is asking for this year.

For more on the story, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Parks And Recreation Director John Gentry Before BOC.