McCORDSVILLE — Monthly rates are going up almost $5 starting with June billing for residents on McCordsville’s wastewater system.
The town council passed an ordinance for the rate increase in March and April to pay off a bond for funding an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, which nears capacity as the town continues to grow.
At a cost of $7,161,000, the plant will expand from its current capacity of 500,000 gallons to 1 million gallons at its location north of McCordsville Town Hall on Commercial Drive west of Mt. Comfort Road. The town was able to fund $3.5 million of the project through funds of its own, allowing the rate hike to not be as high as it could have been.
Currently, the sewer rate is $48 a month and has been for more than 10 years. The rate increase will raise it to $52.99 a month. It applies only to residents on McCordsville’s sewer system, not those with septic systems or those served by Aqua Indiana.
Greg Brewer is one of the town council’s five members who voted in favor of the rate increase.
“The infrastructure needs to grow as the town’s growing,” he told the Daily Reporter.
Tonya Galbraith, McCordsville town manager, said at a town council meeting on May 12 that the interest rate for the bond issuance for the plant expansion is about 2.2%, lower than the 2.8% initially estimated.
“This speaks to the good credit of the town,” Galbraith said.
Standard & Poor’s assigned its A+ rating to the town’s bonds backing the plant expansion.
“In our opinion, given the current economic conditions, we believe the wastewater system’s revenues may decline somewhat for fiscal 2020 or beyond,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Melody Vinje said in an April 27 news release. “However, even with a 10% reduction in revenues, we believe the system will still produce strong coverage levels. We also believe the system’s reserves provides some cushion for short-term disruptions.”
A list of frequently asked questions on the town’s website states that the plant’s last expansion was in 2009 and that the new expansion should be online at the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022. The town doesn’t anticipate needing another expansion for seven to 10 years, but the exact time frame depends on growth patterns, according to the FAQ.
McCordsville isn’t the only municipality in Hancock County raising sewer rates to help pay for wastewater treatment plant improvements. Greenfield officials are doing so to fund upgrades that will allow the city’s plant to align with state requirements regarding phosphorous removal. A small residential customer using 1,000 gallons of water in a month will see their rates increase from $19.77 to $36.89 in 2022, an increase of about 87%. A larger residential customer using 4,000 gallons per month, about average for the city, will see an increase from $29.25 to $54.58.
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McCordsville residential sewer rates
- Currently: $48 a month
- Starting in June: $52.99 a month
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