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NARR: New Yorkers pay more for water every year. But today's proposed hike would be the biggest in more than 15 years.
DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd said the hike is hard to avoid - because of higher costs. She cited expenses for things like worker healthcare. High fuel and energy prices make it more expensive to run water treatment facilities. And there are also the costs of meeting environmental and public health mandates.
Lloyd says all of these obligations give the department no choice.
TAPE: EMILY LLOYD
IT'S REALLY DRIVEN BY NON-DISCRETIONARY OPERATING COSTS… FOR EXAMPLE THE INCREASED COST OF TRANSPORTING SLUDGE. (:06)
NARR: Lloyd said the city is removing more sluge from city wastewater than it used to, and sludge is expensive to dispose of.
If the rate increase is approved, homeowners will pay $100 dollars more on average in water and sewer costs than they do this year.
Councilman James Gennaro chairs the Committee on Environmental Protection. He says there's a problem with the way money from water and sewer bills is spent. New Yorkers pay their bills, and some of the money gets diverted. It goes to the city's general fund, where it can pay for things like office supplies.
TAPE: JAMES GENNARO
ONE THIRD OF THE INCREASE - 89 MILLION DOLLARS - WOULD BE TAKEN OUT OF THE WATER AND SEWER SYSTEM AND BE USED TO PAY FOR THINGS THAT HAVE NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH WATER AND SEWER, AND THAT'S AN ABOMINATION. (:11)
NARR: Gennaro says payments to the general fund amount to a backdoor tax on city residents. And if the funds weren't diverted, double-digit hikes wouldn't be necessary.
SOUND UP: WATER POURING INTO GLASS
NARR: The water that comes out of your kitchen tap travels a long way. Most of it originates about 125 miles upstate - in the Catskill Mountains and the upper Delaware River.
Costs for the city's water and sewer service are expected to total more than 2.4 billion dollars next year. And customers will pay the entire bill, because New York's water system is a self-funded utility and gets no money from outside sources.
When water users don't pay their bills - the DEP has problems. Deputy Commissioner Ann Canty:
TAPE: ANN CANTY
DELINQUENT PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN A VERY BIG ISSUE OVER THE YEARS AND THEY'RE AN ISSUE THAT THE AGENCY HAS WORKED VERY HARD TO TRY TO TACKLE. (:09)
NARR: A year ago, overdue accounts totalled 580 million dollars. The DEP is trying to make it easier for customers to pay up.
TAPE: AUTOMATED CALL CENTER
THANK YOU FOR CALLING THE NEW YORK CITY WATER BOARD AUTOMATED PAYMENT LINE. TO MAKE A PAYMENT ON YOUR WATER BILL… (:07)
NARR: The DEP launched this 24-hour payment line last month. Until April 22nd, delinquent customers can register to pay off missed charges little by little.
In March, the DEP mailed warning letters to property owners with the worst payment records. Then, last week - for the first time in recent history - the DEP began turning off their water.
Deputy Commissioner Canty says it's working.
TAPE: CANTY
WE'RE ONLY IN THE FOURTH WEEK OF THAT PROGRAM AND ALREADY WE HAVE A 95% PRE-TERMINATION PAYMENT RATE. (:08)
NARR: The DEP says it will continue to make customer pay their bills, but next year's shortfall remains.
Public hearings on the proposed rate hike will take place in all five boroughs next month. A vote is expected May 16th.
Molly Messick, Columbia Radio News.