Dec. 8 presentation will help council decide whether to increase them

The Albany Public Works staff is researching expected water revenue and expenditures and is making rate comparisons with other cities to help the city council decide whether to increase rates next year.

Also in the financial mix is what to do with $1.1 million from the recent sale of the 100-acre former Archibald property near the North and South Santiam rivers. The city bought the property in March 2002, using about four acres for the Albany-Millersburg Joint Water Treatment Plant.

The council will consider current economic conditions and their effect on ratepayers before making a decision, said Public Works Director Diane Dennis. The staff report is expected to be presented to the council on Dec. 8.

Councilor Ralph Reid Jr. already is looking at the Albany water rate question.

“I’ve heard complaints, so I wanted to find out if the rates could be lowered or remain the same,” he said.

At the same time, Reid wants enough money kept in the water plant’s debt service account so the city could make a year’s principal and interest payment if other funds were not available for some reason.

“I don’t want us to see us default because that would cause problems with the city’s credit rating and make it harder for the city to sell bonds in the future,” he said.

For fiscal year 2008-09, the principal and interest total is $2.9 million. The city expects to pay off the principal and interest on the plant in 2034.

After a public hearing last November, the council voted 4-2 to boost the average residential water bill for this calendar year by $1.06 per month. Currently, a typical Albany household pays about $43 a month for water, with the combined water and sewer bills totaling about $80 a month.

Reid, Bessie Johnson, Jeff Christman and then-councilor Dan Bedore voted in favor, while Sharon Konopa and Dick Olsen voted against.

Konopa and Olsen opposed the increase after learning that collected revenue was running ahead of projections.

Konopa said then and later that too much revenue is spent to replace and then increase the size of water lines that would serve new development. She said lines at Crocker Lane in North Albany are an example. The focus should be on replacing leaky, steel lines in the older parts of town.

About 24 percent of the water that leaves the treatment plan leaks out before reaching homes and businesses, Dennis said. That translates to about 6 million gallons a year, creating a loss of between $50,000 and $100,000.

A good system would lose about 10 percent, Dennis said.