Falls Church officials have delayed a vote to set the city’s new water utility rate after lawyers representing Fairfax County questioned whether the new rates violate a court decision regarding how much the water utility can charge .
In a letter to Falls Church City Attorney John Foster, counsel for the Fairfax County Water Authority questioned the city’s proposal to raise the water fee this year, a move that would generate even more excess revenue in the city’s water fund.
City consultants proposed raising the rate by 8 percent this year, which would result in an increase of $8 to $32 for customers per year.
Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Terrence Ney ruled in January 2010 that the city’s practice of transferring excess revenue from the water fund into its general fund, where it was used on projects unrelated to the city-run water system, amounted to an “unconstitutional, extra-territorial tax” on customers in Fairfax County.
About 110,000 Fairfax County resident get their water from Falls Church.
Foster responded that the judge’s decision only outlawed the transfer of revenue from the water fund to the general fund, and that generating extra revenue is a common practice when setting utility rates. However, officials decided to delay Tuesday’s vote on the proposed rate.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the city will delay the implementation of the rate consultants recommendations … pending confirmation that the city’s proposed rate structure is in full compliance with Judge Ney’s order,” City Manager Wyatt Shields said.
